Heritage
by Neale
Summary: Story abandoned due to attacks from anonymous cowards. I've been drawn into the Harry Potter world by many great fanfics here and thought I'd give it a go. This diverges from canon in that Harry and Hermione are together (as JKR finally agreed was a better pairing) and many of the characters I disliked in canon get treated the way I thought they deserved to be. War
1. Chapter 1

**I've found lately that I've branched out from where I was writing and have mainly been reading alternative Harry Potter stories here, and I've enjoyed them so much that I decided to try my hand at one. This won't be everyone's cup of tea, as I find some of the original characterisations loathsome and pairings ridiculous, so I'll be going with Harry and Hermione together (as JKR later admitted was a better idea) and calling a spade a spade as far as a few of the Weasleys, Dumbledore, Snape etc go.**

 **Usual disclaimers, no rights to any characters portrayed and this isn't the real world or a Disney Princess story.**

The woman looked down at her infant son and smiled as she lovingly brushed the hair off of his face. Her smile smile faded though as she looked over at the table that was covered with sheets of parchment, quills and ink pots, she had to craft a protective charm that would would be strong enough to keep him safe from the evil that was coming after them.

She bent down to gently kiss her son on the forehead and then moved across to the table to work on the charm. A few hours later she pushed her hair out her eyes in frustration, inadvertently leaving a smudge of ink on her forehead as she did so, but she suddenly stopped and read what she'd written.

After picking up the other sheets and stepping through the charm from start to finish she jumped up, excited, and ran down to show her husband what she'd created. Her husband didn't truly understand what she'd crafted, even after she stepped him through the process and explained each part of it to him. He was neither surprised nor worried about that though, because _she_ was the one who was the smartest witch of their generation, he just asked her one thing.

"Are you confident that this will keep him safe?"

She hesitated. "I... I think so."

He just looked at her and after a while she nodded confidently. "Yes! If we cast this together the way I showed you, it will keep him safe from…..Him."

He picked her up and kissed her, then took her hand and led her back up to the room where their infant lay. She quietly walked him through the spell and when he nodded to indicate that he had it, they cast the spell over their son. Casting it together, the greatest witch of their generation and her equally powerful wizard husband imbued the protections over their greatest treasure with all the love and power that they possessed. When it was done she collapsed and he picked her up, carrying her across to gently lay her on the bed, but he could see the power of the protections that they'd wrapped around their son and knew that once again his wife had crafted something truly amazing. He lovingly kissed both his wife and his son, then left them to rest.

* * *

The bizarrely dressed old man walking up the street had silver hair and beard, and both were long enough to reach his waist. As he walked up the street he kept flicking something that looked like a cigarette lighter in his hand and each time he did so, the street grew progressively darker as another street light went out. As he reached his destination, he stopped to look at a tabby cat that was sitting stiffly on a wall with what by all appearances was a disapproving look.

He said. "Ah yes, I thought you might be here Minerva." as he flicked the device in his hand again and the street light went out. As the light went out, there was a glimpse of the cat leaping off the wall, but what came into view was no cat, it was a thin, severe looking woman dressed as bizarrely as he was.

"Surely you cannot be thinking of leaving the boy with them Albus? I have been watching them all day and they are terrible people! They are truly…..."

"The only family that he has!"

"Blood is not enough Albus! I wouldn't leave a dog with those people, let alone a treasure such as that child."

"It is the only place that he can be safe Minerva. Do not worry, I've made all the necessary arrangements with them and I assure you that I will watch over him and keep him safe, after all the hopes of our world are resting on him…."

He broke off as they heard a puttering noise growing closer, and looking up they could see a large object coming towards them, flying over the houses of the estate. They watched as it swept around to line up with the street and then came down to land, its tyres chirping on the asphalt. When it came to a halt, they could see that what appeared to be a mini-bike was in fact a large motorcycle, it was just the giant figure riding it that made it appear so tiny.

The giant, or rather half giant to be precise, nodded to them in turn as he stepped off the motorcycle and addressed them. "Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall."

Dumbledore solemnly nodded to him. "Hagrid. No problems I trust?"

"No sir. The poor little tyke's been as quiet as a mouse and he fell asleep as we were flying over Bristol."

Dumbledore looked at the motorcycle as Hagrid was carefully untying the baby carrier that he was strapped across his chest. "Where did you get the motorcycle Hagrid?"

"Young Sirius Black Sir, he turned up at the cottage just as I was leaving. He said that the little tyke should be going with him because he's the boy's godfather and all, but he agreed that he'd be safest where you know who can't find him for now. That's why he loaned me the bike, to get him well away from there. He says he'll talk to you about when young Harry can come to live with him."

That answer seemed to make Dumbledore testy and he held out his hands for the baby carrier and said. "Yes. Yes. I will talk to him at a better time but we must be quick about it now. Give me the boy and get going before someone sees you, and you too Minerva."

"Albus, I beseech you, do not leave this child with these people, I fear for him to be left to the care of such as them."

"Professor McGonagall! I have already assured you that I will be watching over him and will ensure that the child will be well treated, do not question me again!"

They both thought his behaviour was very strange, but they had been indoctrinated to follow Albus Dumbledore without question, so as soon as Hagrid had untied the baby carrier and handed it over, they both disappeared. That was why neither of them saw him just tuck a note in beside the sleeping infant, dump the baby carrier on the doorstep of Number Four, Privet Drive and leave.

* * *

When Dumbledore returned to the castle they'd come from, he hurried to Professor McGonagall's office, speaking as he opened the door. "Minerva?"

She looked up. "Yes Albus?" "Obliviate!"

Soon after that he was knocking on the door of Hagrid's cottage.

"Professor Dumbledore, what can I do for you?"

"The motorcycle Hagrid, what did you do with it?"

"It's around the back Professor."

"That won't do at all Hagrid, if he who must not be named finds it here, he will not stop until he finds the boy."

"What should I do with it then Professor?"

"Take it and hide it deep in the Forbidden Forest."

"But"

"This must be done Hagrid!"

Dumbledore smiled to himself as Hagrid kicked the engine to life and rode off into the Forbidden Forest, patting himself on the back for getting rid of a major weak spot and irritation so effectively, there was little chance of that soft headed fool coming back out of the forest.

That was why he was shocked when the oaf appeared in his office an hour later, pleased as punch as he told him. "You know what is you know where Professor, you know who will never find it where I left it."

Dumbledore snatched up his wand. "Obliviate!"

* * *

Harry cried out as something broke when he landed in a heap after his Uncle Vernon slapped him hard enough to send him flying across the room. When he sat there and cradled his arm as his Uncle was demanding that he get back in the kitchen and get everything ready before his guests arrived, Vernon grabbed him by the broken arm to drag him to his feet and Harry screamed.

His Aunt Petunia screamed a moment later when Vernon came crashing through the door in a flash of light. Two very angry house elves stood protectively over Harry as the larger one shouted. "You will not hurt Master Harry!"

Vernon flopped about like a wounded walrus until he managed to get to his feet and stomped angrily to the door, eager to crush these freakish creatures who had attacked him. He moved faster than a big fat lump like him should be able to though to avoid the fire ball that the larger elf hurled at him. He bolted, or more to the point waddled, straight out the back door as fast as he could then, leaving his wife and son to their fates. When Petunia peeked through the door way with a fry pan raised threateningly after that though, her nephew and the two elves were gone.

* * *

The next thing Harry knew, he was waking up in a soft bed in a room he'd never seen before and the two elves appeared beside the bed with soft _pops_ with the smaller female one anxiously asking. "How are you feeling Master Harry?"

Harry jumped in fright at that, because he hadn't noticed the sounds of them appearing as he was looking around in wonder.

The elf was mortified at this, saying. "Tally has frightened the young master, Tally must be punished!" as she moved to the nearest bed post and began slamming her face into it.

Harry was frantic as he cried. "Don't! Stop! Tally, please stop hurting yourself!"

She did as he asked, but turned to look at him quizzically. "But Tally must punish herself, she frightened the young master when she surprised him."

"No, you mustn't!"

Harry drew a breath in an effort to calm himself, and threads of memory came back to him. It was very tenuous but he knew what he had to do.

"Tally, I'm sorry, but what exactly are you? And who are you?" He asked as he looked at the male elf.

Tally answered first. "I am Tally Master Harry, I am a house elf bonded to the House of Potter."

The male elf answered then. "I am Dommy Master Harry, I am also a house elf bonded to the House of Potter."

"I guess that means that you must obey me then?"

"Yes Master Harry, you are the last in line of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter, so you are the head of the House of Potter now."

He had to pause for a moment to take that in. "Then there is a new rule for both of you. From now on, you are not allowed to punish yourselves unless I tell you to. If you do something that you believe that you should be punished for, you must tell me, and I will decide what is appropriate and tell you what to do. Do you understand?" He looked from Tally to Dommy and they both answered. "Yes Master Harry."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief and then looked at Tally. "Tally, you didn't frighten me, you just startled me. In answer to your question, I feel fine, in fact….." He stopped as he realised that his arm wasn't hurting and moved it about. "My arm, what happened to my arm?"

Dommy answered this time. "We healed it Master Harry. It was broken when the fat one attacked you….. Master Harry, under your new orders, I must tell you that I should be punished. The fat one harmed you, and your pain called us to you, but I let him escape when we brought you back here to heal you."

"No Dommy, you did the right thing, both of you, so there is nothing to punish yourselves for. Where is 'here', by the way?"

"This is your home Master Harry, this is Potter Manor."

Harry was staring at him with no idea what to say to that when his stomach rumbled and Tally blurted out.

"Master Harry is hungry! Tally will make you something to eat, what does Master Harry want?"

Harry rubbed his stomach ruefully, of course he was hungry, he was _always_ hungry because Uncle Vernon and Dudley never left him enough to eat, if anything. "Whatever is quick and easy Tally." She disappeared with a soft _pop_ and Harry was suddenly made aware that he had _other_ pressing needs as well. "Where is the toilet please Dommy?"

Dommy indicated a door to his left. "There Master Harry."

Harry jumped out of bed with a quick 'thank you' and hurried to the bathroom. When he came out, the table by the window was all but buried under a massive spread of dishes. He scandalised the two elves when he insisted that they join him, as there was no way he could eat more than a fraction of this, but he made it an order so they couldn't refuse.

As they ate, the two elves told him about Potter Manor, the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter, and how he came to be the head of the house before he was eight, in fact he'd become the head of the house at just fifteen months old when his parents were killed.

Harry didn't understand most of what he was told about what protected Potter Manor, but he was prepared to accept what Dommy said about them being the strongest wards and charms that the goblins and his family could create. When he asked why his parents hadn't stayed here where it was safe, Dommy explained that his parents had wanted to protect the House of Potter from the reprisals of Voldemort and his Death Eaters so after his grandparents died, they had chosen not to take the new secret of Potter Manor's location to protect the well over a thousand years of Potter heritage that resided here.

Dommy stopped at that point and begged to be allowed to punish himself, because he had failed the family and hadn't saved Master James and Mistress Lily, or him when he was taken to that terrible place. Harry thought for a moment on what Dommy and Tally had told him about Potter Manor's wards before he answered him.

"You told me that I am safe from detection here, even from elves who haven't been told the secret, because of the wards and charms that had been placed over the manor." Dommy nodded. "Would my mother have known about these wards?"

"Oh yes Master Harry, Mistress Lily was so clever, she created some of the most clever wards."

"Were either of you given the secret for our cottage in Godric's Hollow?"

"No Master Harry, Master James and Mistress Lily said that it would be safer if there was no direct connection between them and the Manor."

"So you couldn't see where they were, where we were? Did they have any way of contacting you?"

"No Master Harry, we could not see them when they were inside of the wards. They could contact us by calling us and we could go to them when they did."

"So you could only go to them if they called for you. Did either of them call for you that night?"

"Yes Master Harry, no, they did not call for us that terrible night. We have been getting the newspapers via Gringotts and we found out what happened to Master James and Mistress Lily, but no-one knew what happened to you. It was only when we felt your pain that we found you to come to you."

"I'm sorry, but could you explain that please?"

"You are the head of the House of Potter Master Harry, so it is our duty to protect you, but because you didn't call us, we couldn't come to you until you were in pain."

"Well that's why I cannot allow you to punish yourself Dommy, you couldn't detect anything inside of the wards of the cottage in Godric's Hollow, and my parents didn't call for you, so there was nothing that you could do. As for me, I didn't know to call you so there was nothing that you could do there either."

Dommy looked at him quizzically as he tried to find a hole in Harry's logic, when he couldn't he nodded. "Thank you Master Harry, I see that now."

* * *

After Harry had had a shower and allowed Tally to examine him, she started the course of potions and spells to address the malnutrition, ailments and injuries that he had as a result of his treatment at the hands of the Dursleys. With that done, he dressed himself in the new clothes that Tally had gotten for him, his very first new clothes, and was taken to meet his family.

Talking to the magical portraits of Fleamont and Euphemia Potter, his father's parents, and Henry Potter, his great grandfather who he was named after, was a something of an experience for Harry. It was his grandfather who explained to Harry how the magical portraits can hold the essence of magical beings and allow them to interact with the living after their deaths. His grandmother wept about the fact that James and Lily hadn't lived in times that were safe enough for them to have portraits made, so they were lost.

Harry's first few days were mainly spent talking to his grandparents and great grandfather, as they were educating him about the magical world and making plans for his life. One thing that they were determined about was that he get a good grounding in the magical arts and history, as his mother in particular would have wanted this for him. He couldn't do much more than listen and respond for these days, as one of the treatments that he had to have was to fix his eyes, because they had been ruined by the malnutrition and blows to the head that he'd been subjected to by the Dursleys. This process essentially involved the regrowing of his eyes, so he couldn't see for days, but when it was done his vision was perfect and his grandmother cried because he had his mother's eyes.

So it was that Harry began an intensive training in magic in May 1988. Of course, there were a few things that Harry needed to do that, so Dommy and Tally took him to Diagon Alley to get them. Their first stop was Gringotts, and their reception was quite a surprise to Harry, as silence descended in the banking chamber when the goblin that they spoke to called for a suitable escort to take them to the Head Goblin. Harry was trying to quietly ask Dommy why everyone went quiet when they heard that they were being escorted to the Head Goblin, but it was the head of the escort who answered him.

"It was because the Head Goblin never bothers dealing with customers Lord Potter, he is much too important and busy managing Gringotts. The last human who I escorted to the Head Goblin was your Grandfather, Lord Fleamont Potter."

Harry looked at Dommy and Tally, but they shook their heads to indicate that they knew nothing of this.

When the Head Goblin stood and bowed to him, saying. "Lord Potter, I am pleased to see you safe and well, we knew that you were alive through the magical instruments managing the Potter estate, but we were concerned when you disappeared." their escort was shocked, they had never seen the Head Goblin behave like this. They were even more surprised when he told them to leave him alone with Lord Potter and his house elves, but disobeying or questioning the Head Goblin was not something you did if you valued your life, so they bowed and quickly retreated.

They spent some time with the Head Goblin, and he explained enough about the special relationship that the House of Potter had with the Goblins, going back way past where Harry's great, great, great grandfather had led the campaign in the Wizengamot to give Gringotts back to the Goblins over a hundred and twenty years ago, for him to understand what was going on. He then brought out the copy of Harry's parents' will, which had been magically delivered to Gringotts upon their death. When he saw how much magic was radiating off Harry when he read that his parents' will specifically stated that the Dursleys were _not_ to be given custody of him, and that Albus Dumbledore, the one who had left him on their doorstep six and a half years ago and he knew from Uncle Vernon's repeated rants had been to speak with them on numerous occasions, was one of the witnesses to that will, the Head Goblin shuddered at the thought of how powerful a wizard this young Lord would be. The fact that the child maintained control of his magic in his anger was a very good sign though.

The Head Goblin explained that Harry had become Lord Potter upon his father's death, but he would not be able to claim his seat in the human government until he as Lord Potter reached his majority at sixteen, and nor would he be able to assume ownership of all the Potter assets that he was bequeathed until then. In the interim, he did have access to his trust vault that had been set up for him to cover his needs and had the use of the Potter properties. It was also pointed out that his majority would have been at seventeen if he had not been the head of a noble house.

He then went on to advise Harry of the attempts that had been made since his parents died to seize the Potter estate, using the claim that all the Potters were dead. When these were rebuffed with the proof from the magical instruments that Harry lived, there were also attempts to assign a magical guardian over Harry to gain control of the Potter fortune that way. Harry was frighteningly controlled when he politely asked the names of those who had tried to seize the fortune and name themselves his guardian, and was not at all surprised to hear that most of those attempts had been made by Albus Dumbledore.

The Head Goblin also advised Harry of the law that had been passed while Dumbledore was first in power that allowed the magical government to seize all assets of families if the heirs did not live to reach their majority and showed him the contract that his father had entered into with Gringotts to manage all of the House of Potter's affairs and ensure the safety of the heir until he reached his majority in the event of his own death. He pointed out the specific reference to this contract in the will and told Harry that when Gringotts contacted Dumbledore after his parents' deaths so that they could honour all terms of the contract that they'd made with his father, Dumbledore had claimed to have no knowledge of where Harry had disappeared to. When he said that, Harry told him about Dumbledore's visits that Uncle Vernon had abused him for.

It was agreed that the magical protections for Potter Manor were sufficient, as the magical instruments which testified to the fact that Harry lived were apparently the only things capable of piercing them and the strength of the wards had been fully tested when they were established. With that side amply covered, the Head Goblin had a suitable force of goblin 'security guards' assembled for Tally and Dommy to transport to Potter Manor, as the Head Goblin agreed that it was best if no-one but Lord Potter and his house elves knew the location of the Manor.

* * *

A detachment of elite goblin security guards accompanied Tally, Dommy and Harry on their shopping trip in Diagon Alley. Harry hadn't needed to go along when Tally and Dommy collected most of the items he needed, but there was one item that he needed to get for himself, that was why they went to Ollivanders Wand Shop, for Harry to get a wand. After trying dozens of wands and almost destroying the shop, he was matched to an eleven inch holly wand which had a phoenix feather for its core. When Harry politely asked about his reaction when the wand chose him, Mr Ollivander's response was "I remember every single wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather — just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother gave you that scar."

When Mr Ollivander said that Headmaster Dumbledore would be excited to hear about this, Harry froze. "You cannot tell him anything about this Mister Ollivander!"

"I can assure you that you have nothing to worry about Mister Potter, Headmaster Dumbledore will keep your secret safe, but he needs to know this. This is so exciting!"

Harry looked at Dommy, and read his request for permission in his expression. Harry reluctantly nodded in agreement as he _knew_ that he couldn't trust Dumbledore. He barely had enough time to say. "I'm really sorry about this Mister Ollivander." before Dommy wiped out his memories for the day and knocked him out for a while.

Harry's grandfather had pointed out that having backup wands was very useful in both duelling and battle, so Harry cast a general wandless summoning spell for wands using elf magic, thinking that a wand that fitted him would be most likely to react to that. Three other boxes popped out of the ones piled to the ceiling all about the shop and Tally quickly retrieved them, moving other boxes in place of the ones that had been taken and dusting the stacks to cover up what was missing, while Harry left enough galleons to cover twenty wands on the counter.

When Mr Ollivander knew where he was again, he was surprised to find himself in the shop as he had no idea about how he got there. He quickly counted his takings and confirmed that he had been paid for twenty more wands than he had any record of selling, but looking around the shop he could see that there weren't twenty wands missing, a few perhaps but not twenty.

* * *

Back at Potter Manor, Harry expected his grandparents and great grandfather to be disappointed with him for what they did in Ollivanders, but both his grandfather and great grandfather were quite impressed with the clever way he'd covered up what wand had chosen him. Some of his ancestors scolded him for throwing money about like that, but from the looks he was getting from his grandparents' and great grandfather's portraits, he got the impression that they had a good idea of what he'd found when he'd been shown his personal vault.

When the door opened, he'd blurted out. "There must be millions in here!" and Griphook, the goblin who was assigned to assist him, responded with. "Yes Lord Potter, your vault contains three million, seven hundred and eighty six thousand and six hundred and fifty two galleons, twelve sickles and twenty five knuts at this time."

Harry had been told that time is money is the goblins' creed, so he'd quickly grabbed handfuls of galleons, sickles and knuts and thrown them into the purse that Griphook had given him. When he stopped and tried to count what he'd taken, Griphook held up a sheet of parchment and said. "This parchment will tell you what you have taken Lord Potter."

Harry looked in the bag. "Oh, how much is it then?"

"Five hundred and forty three galleons, six sickles and twelve knuts Lord Potter"

"That should be plenty for what I need to buy, thank you Griphook, I think we're done here."

* * *

For the next three and a quarter years, Harry was strenuously trained in the magical arts and history, but it certainly wasn't a conventional training by any stretch of the imagination. His Grandfather instructed him in defensive spells and duelling, as well as potions, as he was a master of both of these fields. His Grandmother instructed him in charms and his great grandfather instructed him in transfiguration and magical history. Other Potter ancestors' portraits also provided instruction in some of the fields, like runes.

Being instructed by magical portraits wasn't the last of the strangeness though, because they also drew ghosts to Potter Manor who were masters in a number of fields of magic and Tally and Dommy trained him in elf magic. Members of his goblin security force trained him physically, as well as showing him some forms of goblin defensive magic, while they brought in curse-breakers and other experts to give him further instruction in wards and other goblin magic.

They'd also dug up living tutors for him, Remus Lupin and Angela Fawley. Remus had fallen on hard times after James and Lily died as distrust of anyone with Lycanthropy pushed him out of most jobs and society, but Harry's grandparents knew that his parents had liked and trusted Remus. It wasn't too difficult to coax Remus away from the life he was living to come and be Harry's tutor, especially when Harry's grandfather promised to oversee the preparation of the wolfsbane potions that Remus needed to maintain sufficient control of himself when the full moon was out. Angela was coaxed away from her position as a rising star in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement's Auror Division to tutor and protect her best friend's son.

As well as his magical training, Harry's grandparents insisted that Remus and Angela keep Harry up to date in his non-magical education because Lily had convinced them of the value of this. He was home schooled in a wider array of subjects than he'd covered at the second rate school he'd been sent to and now that he was no longer required to get lower scores than his cousin to avoid getting beaten, Harry was doing quite well and his results were never outside the top ten percent.

The three and a quarter years that they trained Harry in magic were busy but happy times, certainly happier than the six and a half years that he was enslaved, incarcerated and abused by the Dursleys at Dumbledore's instigation. It certainly wasn't a normal life.

The majority of the living in Potter Manor were the goblin guards, and in fact one of the only other living humans in the Manor wasn't even considered that by the ministry and most of the wizarding world because of his Lycanthropy affliction. Much of the company that Harry had was from his ancestors' magical portraits and the ghosts, and for the most part his face to face interactions were restricted to Remus, Angela, Tally and Dommy because even though he was fluent in gobbledegook, most of the goblin guards were rarely good conversationalists.

* * *

Of course, all good things come to an end, and on Harry's eleventh birthday his Hogwarts acceptance letter arrived. Harry laughed to see it addressed to Lord Henry Potter C/- Gringotts Wizarding Bank, as Hogwarts itself generated and addressed the letters, so Dumbledore and the rest of them had no idea about his title or the fact that everything sent to him would come via Gringotts as yet.

Even with the proof that he'd been shown, Remus still had trouble fighting to shake his indoctrination about 'the great Albus Dumbledore' and the mistaken belief that he owed Dumbledore something so he had problems with the distrust that Harry, his family, Tally, Dommy and the goblins held for Dumbledore, but he didn't argue against taking all precautions. Angela was raised in a noble house and was by nature suspicious to start with.

The first thing that Harry's great great grandfather insisted on was that he require the private quarters that were the right of the head of a noble house for him and his staff. This right hadn't been used since his day, but the Gringotts lawyers had confirmed that it was still valid via the wizarding lawyers that they worked with. The second non-negotiable requirement came from his grandmother, he would have a goblin security detail with him at Hogwarts, this was another right of the noble houses that was still in place. It was his grandfather who insisted that he exercise his right to use private tutors for classes where his education had already progressed beyond what the first years would be taught or the professors were inadequate or untrusted, or any combination of these. He would attend the examinations but not the classes with the rest of his year for those subjects.

Once everyone was happy with the requirements, Harry looked through the list of required items and realised that the only item that he had any need to get was a pet or familiar. While he had no interest in a pet, he went to Diagon Alley with Dommy under a glamour charm to pay his Hogwarts fees, top up his money bag and see whether there was a familiar who spoke to him like his wand had. As he wandered about Eeylops Owl Emporium looking at the owls, the store owner called out in a panic. "Watch that one young sir! She bites fierce that one does!"

Harry turned to look at the snowy owl that he'd just been warned about with a smile, only to find her looking at him with intelligent interest. He held his finger up to her. "Do you want to bite me?"

The small squawk she gave as she cocked her head and looked him in the eye sounded distinctly like a 'no'.

"Would you like to come home with me?"

This time she bobbed up and down, giving the definite impression she was nodding vigorously, then she squawked softly as she leant forward and gently nibbled on his finger. Harry grinned at her in delight and reached up to stroke the feathers on her head, which she gave every indication of enjoying. He turned to look at the store owner. "How much is she?"

"Seeing how she's taken to you, I've got half a mind to put the price up, but she's a menace that one and I'll be glad to be shot of her, so two galleons and she's your's young sir."

"Done, now I'll also want a nice cage for her….." The squawk from the owl made him look at her and the look in her eye said that she'd be the one to decide what was a suitable cage for her, so Harry grinned again and unhooked her tether from the perch. She happily hopped onto his shoulder and perched there as he walked around the store and selected a cage and perch that met with her approval, she also made her opinion known about which owl treats were, and weren't, up to her standards.

It didn't take long to find a name that the owl would accept, she was Hedwig.

* * *

Of course, there were further arguments with his ancestors' portraits, Tally, Dommy and the head of the goblin guard when Harry pointed out that he really had to take the Hogwarts Express, the first time he went at least. Once he'd gotten past that hurdle, he had to convince Rackclaw that he couldn't have guards with him on the train. The final compromise was that they would watch and listen with the relevant magical devices and if he felt threatened at all, he'd call for Dommy or Tally, knowing that they'd both come.

When the day came, Reamus took Harry to Kings Cross station, telling Harry how to get onto platform 9 ¾. He did so with no problems and he settled into an empty compartment as soon as he boarded the train, talking to Tally when no-one else was near because she was worrying about him. Both she and Dommy still considered themselves responsible for him, but Tally really had trouble letting go.

Once they'd left London, a red headed boy came by and asked whether he could share the compartment as everything else was full. That set some alarm bells off, because Harry didn't think it was possible for his compartment to still be empty if everything else was full, and where had he been up until now? But Harry just said. "Sure!" and the boy settled down right across from him, introducing himself as Ronald Weasley. As soon as Harry introduced himself as Harry Potter, Ron jumped into a big hero worship act and asked him about the scar, going on about that as well. Harry was starting to have serious doubts about this one.

Just then a lady came through with a sweets trolley and asked whether they wanted anything from the trolley. Ron put on a big sad sack act about having to eat the sandwiches that he had with him, so Harry asked how much it would be for some of everything on the cart, pulling a handful of coins out of his purse to find the coins he needed to pay the lady before he realised his mistake, because Ron's eyes lit up when he saw the gold.

It didn't take too long to go through most of the sweets, especially with the way Ron was desperately shovelling as much as he could into his mouth. It was difficult for Harry to get any of what he'd bought because most times he reached for something, Ron grabbed it and shoved it into his mouth. Of course he never stopped eating to talk so anything he said was forced out past a mouthful of sweets, but Harry made a point of not asking him to repeat what he said, it wasn't worth hearing the first time.

Ron then thought that it was important for Harry to be introduced to his rat Scabbers, of course coming out with more woe is me about how pathetic his pet was. It wasn't showing enough intelligence to be anything but a pet, mind you, with its focus purely on eating and sleeping it was a good match for Ron. Just as Ron was about to show Harry a spell to change the rat's colour to yellow, a girl came along looking for something. "Has anyone seen a toad? A boy named Neville has lost one."

She was a little bossy, the way she said that, but she was trying to help someone, and the way Ron glared at her and said 'No' dismissively made the implied 'So piss off!' quite obvious. That got her back up so she came back with. "Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see then!" With all the pomp and ceremony of an eight year old's school talent show he came up with an obviously made up spell that didn't do anything, which gave her the opportunity to blurt out. "Are you sure that was a real spell? It's not very good, is it? I've only tried a few simple spells so far because my parents are non magic folk but they've all worked for me. I got my books a few months ago so I've already read all of them over and over again, I'm so looking forward to practising magic. I'm Hermione Granger by the way, and you are?" She looked at them expectantly as she stopped to draw a breath.

Harry glanced worriedly at Ron, but his shocked and worried expression told Harry that he wasn't the only one who hadn't already read _all_ of their text books for the year. Harry wasn't worried about half of the classes, but the more challenging ones that he hadn't done the first year work for yet, yeah he was a little worried about them. He held out his hand. "Harry Potter, pleased to meet you."

"Are you really? I've read all about you, too, you're in all the latest history books! I'm sorry, I'm just so excited to be going to Hogwarts and meeting someone who's part of history like you…..I'm sorry."

They sat there smiling at each other for a while before she suddenly realised that she was still holding Harry's hand, she went bright red and snatched her hand back, saying. "I'm sorry." again.

She looked at Ron to avoid blushing at Harry again and was about to ask him who he was again when be mumbled. "Ron Weasley." around another mouthful of sweets. From her expression, the sight that gave her turned her stomach and she stood up, saying. "You two better get your robes on, according to the schedule we're nearly there."

She blushed when Harry smiled at her again and rushed out, unfortunately not fast enough to miss the snarky comment of "I hope I'm not in the same house as her, she's mental!" from Ron.

Harry stood to lift his trunk down and get his robes out, and if Ron hadn't been so busy stripping down to his dirty underpants he probably would have been surprised about how easily he'd lifted the trunk down. When Harry got his robe out of his trunk and turned to say something to Ron, he saw him standing there nonchalantly in his dirty underpants, hunting for more sweets in the pile on the seat.

"What are you doing?"

"Looking for another chocolate frog."

"I mean why are you standing there in your underpants? Why did you get undressed?"

"Mt brothers told me that this is what you're supposed to wear under your robes."

"Well put your bloody robes on then! Don't just stand around in your underpants!"

He didn't make any move for his robes, he just stood there with a vacant expression on his face and wanted to argue. "You'll have to get used to this in the dorms, what's your problem?"

That got him a mild stinging hex cast at a sensitive part of his anatomy using elven magic and Harry bit out. "Put. Your. Bloody. Robes. On. Right. Now!"

Ron opened his mouth to argue again and he got a stronger stinging hex to the same area. Even he got the message then and grabbed for his robes. When he had shrugged the robe on though, he went to argue more until Harry raised his hand again and he scrabbled to button it up. As he did so, Harry scooped all of the sweets boxes, both empty and full, into Ron's open trunk.

As soon as he thought that he was covered enough to be safe from further stings, Ron started screaming at Harry. "What's your bloody problem?"

"At the moment, some git who wants to stand around in his dirty underpants right in front of me! I don't swing that way and even if I did, I'd have absolutely no interest in what I was just forced to see!"

"Awww, poor little prince born with a silver spoon in his mouth and can't stand sharing a room huh? It'll be fun to see you cut down to size when you have to share a dorm room then!"

The knee that impacted in the same location as the stinging hexes caused several times as much pain and damage as they had, which meant that Ron didn't see Tally appearing in the compartment, enraged and ready to tear whoever had upset her Master Harry like that apart so that Harry could send her off again with the quiet assurance that he was alright before anyone saw her. Reassuring Tally also calmed Harry enough to quietly tell the boy who was curled up on the floor that he didn't know what he was talking about, he better not come near him again and he would NOT be sharing a dorm room with anyone before anyone else arrived.

The first one to arrive was Percy Weasley and when he saw his brother curled up on the floor moaning he had his wand out and pointed at the boy in the compartment with him, he may not like the little git but the family honour was at stake! The second to arrive was Oliver Wood and when he saw the wand in his hand he shouted. "Weasley! What in Merlin's name do you think you're doing? Put that bloody wand away now!" When Percy ignored him, his wand was poked in Percy's ear as he said "Now! I said!"

That threat was enough to make Percy comply, and Wood asked what had happened after taking in the scene in the compartment. Harry drew a breath and summed it up quickly. "Another first year reminded us that we needed to change into our robes quickly before we got there and I got my robes out of my trunk and turned to say something to Ron, only to find him standing there in nothing but his dirty underpants making no effort to put his robes on, he was too busy trying to find more chocolate frogs. I told him to put his bloody robes on but he just wanted to stand there in his underpants and argue so I made him put his robe on, then he shouted at me…."

The students packing the corridor outside the compartment took it up then. "We heard everything after that! Weasley shouted 'What's your bloody problem?' at him and he said 'a git who wants to stand around in his dirty underpants in front of me' and told him that he didn't swing that way and even if he did he'd have no interest in what he saw. Weasley shouted something about him being born with a silver spoon in his mouth and wanting to see him forced to live like the rest of us and then he started screaming in pain!"

Wood could see the scar on Harry's forehead and knew who this boy was, so he looked in disgust from Ron to Percy. "Obviously the twins got all the sense in the Weasley family! Get your brother out of here Weasley, I can promise you that there will be repercussions for the two of you attacking Harry Potter without cause, with any luck you'll both be thrown out of Hogwarts!"

Percy drew himself up. "I'm a prefect Wood, you can't talk to me like…..Harry Potter?"

"Yes, you prat! Harry Potter, now grab your idiot brother and get out of here!"

He ignored them as Percy dragged Ron away and turned to Harry. "I'm sorry Mister Potter, I hope that you won't allow this to colour your view of Hogwarts, I promise you that most students aren't like these two, in fact I know their brothers and they're nothing at all like them."

Harry responded politely. "Thank you, I've had to deal with people like them before. I hope you're right about the rest of the students though or I will be looking elsewhere for somewhere to go to school."

* * *

When the train pulled into the station at Hogsmead, they were told to leave everything on the train. Harry saw Remus and he nodded for Harry to go along, letting him know that they'd look after Hedwig and his things. There was a massive man on the station calling for the first years to follow him. There was something very familiar about that man, well you weren't likely to forget someone who was twice the height and several times the bulk of most men, and Harry knew that there was something gentle and reassuring about him.

Harry had no trouble gasping in awe at Hogwarts along with the rest of the first years when the boats they were in came around the corner in the late, because the sight they were met with was magnificent. As they were led into the castle, they were met by a thin, stern looking woman who also seemed familiar for some reason, or at least her voice did when she was explaining how they'd be sorted into houses. Once again Harry felt something reassuring about her, though he couldn't understand the look of relief and the unshed tears in her eyes when she looked at him. If Ron wasn't totally oblivious, he would have been terrified of the look she shot him though.

As they were led into the great hall, Harry could hear Hermione telling the girl she was walking with that the starry ceiling was enchanted and how she'd read about it in Hogwarts, a History, looking up he conceded that it was certainly impressive.

The Sorting Hat was a strange looking thing, in fact it was so rough and bedraggled looking Harry thought that it would have been binned long ago, so it was a shock when it spoke and made it clear that it was at least semi-sentient. The sorting wasn't a quick process, and Harry was tuning it out until he heard. "Hermione Granger" and started paying attention. She was one of the ones who made the Sorting Hat take its time deliberating, and its declaration of _"Gr_ _y_ _ffindor!"_ was a surprise, because he thought a clever girl like her would have been sorted into Ravenclaw, but her brilliant smile said that she was happy with the choice.

When it was Harry's turn, Professor McGonagall stopped and read the name again before she called out. "Lord Henry Potter." he could hear the whispers swirling about the hall but they were cut off when the hat was set on his head and he heard the dialogue of the hat _inside_ his head.

"Hmm," said a small voice in his head. "Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent, oh my goodness, yes - and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting.… So where shall I put you?"

Harry gripped the edges of the stool and thought, 'Not Slytherin, not Slytherin'.

"Not Slytherin, eh?" said the small voice. "Are you sure? You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that - no? Well, if you're sure - better be _Gr_ _y_ _ffindor!_ "

He almost didn't hear the cheer that went up as he was led to the Gryffindor table, he was so relieved that he hadn't been sorted into Slytherin, he was happy to be in Gryffindor, he knew from what Remus had told him that his parents and Remus had all been in Gryffindor, but Remus had also told him that Voldemort and his Death Eaters, who'd killed his parents and so many others, had nearly all been in Slytherin so he didn't want to have anything to do with them.

Harry tuned out most of the sorting after him, but his ears pricked up when he heard. "Ronald Weasley." The Sorting Hat took a while with him, and from the looks and whispering going on it was obvious that this was unusual, Harry later found out that four of his older brothers had been sorted into Gryffindor pretty much immediately, like that smarmy looking Draco Malfoy boy when he was sorted into Slytherin. Apparently the only other Weasley who took any time to sort was Percy, who Harry suddenly noted had lost his prefect's badge. Eventually the Sorting Hat called out. " _Gr_ _y_ _ffindor!_ " Harry was a little disappointed, but it was hardly a surprise as all of the Weasleys appeared to end up in Gryffindor.

When the sorting was done, Dumbledore stood to welcome the first years, introduce the staff and make what were apparently his usual announcements. When he was looking at the Staff table, Harry saw one of them, Professor Snape, staring balefully at him as he was talking to Professor Quirrell, and a piercing pain shot through the scar on Harry's forehead that came from the killing curse that had failed to do its job on him. When the pain receded and his vision had cleared, Harry saw that Snape had looked away, Harry was going to have to talk to Remus about that later.

The ghost who sat beside him introduced himself as "Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower." Harry introduced himself politely and was happy chatting with him, not noticing the looks he was getting at how comfortable he was chatting with a ghost like that until Ron Weasley all but shouted. "I know who you are! My brothers told me about you - you're Nearly Headless Nick!"

The Ghost looked affronted at that, saying. "I prefer Sir Nicholas if you don't mind!" but one of the other first years, Seamus Finnigan, asked.

"Nearly Headless? How can you be nearly headless?"

Sir Nicholas looked rather miffed now and snapped. "Like this!" as he reached up to tug at his head so it flopped over onto his shoulder. His neck had been cut most of the way through but was still attached in a failed beheading that obviously _had_ managed to kill him. His enjoyment of the chat he was having with Harry was ruined now, so he took his leave and disappeared.

* * *

When the dinner was finished, Professor McGonagall announced that the prefects would lead the first years to Gryffindor Tower and Harry asked if he could have a word. When they had stepped aside, Harry got straight to it. "Professor McGonagall, as the head of the House of Potter, I will be requiring the private quarters that I am entitled for myself and my staff, I will also be using private tutors for those classes where Hogarts' teachers are not acceptable."

"Mister Potter..." He looked at her. "Lord Potter, I have never heard of anything like this before!"

"Neither had I before I received my acceptance letter Professor, but these were the conditions that I was made to agree to before I was allowed to come here."

"May I ask who _made_ you accept these conditions Lord Potter?"

"My ancestors Professor, for the last few years since I was rescued from where I was left as an infant, I've been raised under the guidance of the magical portraits of my ancestors."

Minerva remembered how her objections to leaving the boy with those terrible people had been overruled and she caught her breath. "Those muggles didn't hurt you, did they Harry?"

"Yes they did, actually Professor, but that's not important now. I have been informed that Hogwarts would have created the private quarters, attached to Gryffindor Tower, for myself and my staff as soon as I was sorted into Gryffindor as Lord Potter."

Minerva nodded. "I am afraid that I know nothing of this, so I will have to come along to see what is required Lord Potter. May we have details of who your staff will be?"

"It will primarily be my steward and goblin guard Professor, though my house elves and tutors will be popping in and out as well. My understanding is that they would have been allowed in by Hogwarts as soon as I was sorted in as Lord Potter and they will be waiting outside of the great hall."

Minerva nodded again. "Very well Lord Potter, do you have a list of classes that you wish to use your private tutors for? And will you be requiring Hogwarts facilities for these classes?"

"Here is the list Professor, for some of them we can use our quarters, for others, such as Potions, we will either require time allocations for the potions labs or have rooms allocated for us to create our own facilities."

She nodded again and led the way out of the great hall, thinking to herself that this would be interesting. Outside the great hall she stopped, because Lord Potter's staff was indeed there, half a dozen goblin guards and a couple of other goblins, two house elves, a witch and….. Remus Lupin? She returned Remus's greeting fondly, because she'd always liked him when he was a student, member of her house and prefect, but knew that there would be trouble with Snape, and probably Albus as well.

There was quite a bit of confusion when the fat lady greeted Remus, and on his say so accepted the rest of Harry's staff as well. Once inside, Minerva wasn't at all surprised to see a new stairway that obviously led up to Lord Potter's quarters, which had been sized to comfortably house the people present. Nor was she surprised to hear that they would be implementing their own wards inside his quarters for Lord Potter's protection.

Oh yes, this would be interesting!

She had something else to address before she left the Gryffindor Tower though, and called the youngest Weasley boy aside to tell him that the rest of his year mates who would have been sharing a dormitory room with him had been worried about all the stories they'd heard from the train about him stripping off and sexually attacking Harry Potter, so they'd been asking if they could change houses or leave Hogwarts until a suitable alternative was arrived at.

Ron was shown a closet that had been magically expanded just enough to hold a small bed and wardrobe and told that he would be sleeping in here, she also told him that the wards had been set keep him out of the boys' dormitory, and he would only be allowed into the boys' bathroom if no-one else was in there.

Her last notice was that they wore clothes under their robes at Hogwarts and if he was found without proper clothes under his robes again he'd be expelled as he'd already used up all his warnings. She finished with. "Stupid boy, why do you think you have so many other clothes in your trunk if you aren't supposed to wear them?"

Minerva was shaking her head as she left, Merlin help them all if those prankster twins were the only ones in the Weasley family who didn't shame the house!

 **A/N: So now I guess we wait to see whether there's enough interest in this to continue with it. Did it bomb, interesting or what?**

 **BTW: As I have to repeatedly remind people in the other space here that I write in, 'Anonymous Reviews' will be deleted, you can say what you like about me and my stories as long as you're prepared to stand up and put your name on it so I can respond to you privately, but if you want to hide behind anonymous reviews and attack, they'll just be deleted.**

 **OK, very slight modification from uniform to clothes in case anyone else is tied up in the same minutia as someone was.**


	2. Hogwarts Hi-Jinx

**Some seemed to like this anyway so we'll try a little more, and see who else we can confound and affront. ;^)**

 **Usual disclaimers, no rights to any characters portrayed and this is neither the real world nor a Disney Princess story.**

Minerva left Gryffindor Tower shaking her head and headed for the Headmaster's office. She appreciated the fact that young Lord Potter had provided her with the information to explain some of the things that they both expected her to be confronted with, and more to the point had reminded her that if his claims were spurious, Hogwarts itself would not have created his quarters and allowed his staff inside as it did.

She appreciated the trust he showed in her by informing her of the reasons behind the fact that the address used by Hogwarts of care of Gringotts would be the only one that the House of Potter would ever give out even more, but this raised serious questions as well because among other things he'd forced her to look into the memory that had come out about him being left with those awful muggles as an infant when he confided in her that he had an early memory of her voice that gave him confidence and trust in her.

While she couldn't remember much more than that one fragment that had made her ask that question, she knew that she'd been watching the house that he'd been sent to on the day that he was delivered there and with her permission the witch on his staff had examined her mind and found evidence that she'd had her memory tampered with on more than one occasion and had had most of her memory of the event that they both recalled removed. Her suspicions about who could have done that made her approach the Headmaster's office with some trepidation.

The scene in Albus Dumbledore's office was much as she'd expected, Severus Snape was there and they were both raging about the fact that Harry Potter was not following the script that he was expected to. Armed with the information that Harry had given her, she went on attack. "What are you doing here Severus?"

Dumbledore tried to take control of the situation. "We are merely attempting to resolve the issues that Mister Potter has forced on us with his tampering of Hogwarts Minerva."

"With all due respect Headmaster, matters to do with _Lord_ Potter have absolutely nothing to do with Professor Snape, he is not in Professor Snape's house, he will not even be in Professor Snape's class, so matters to do with Lord Potter are something for his head of house and the Deputy Headmistress to discuss with you, not Professor Snape. This is yet another example of Professor Snape interfering in matters of my house with no authority or reason to do so and I would like him to leave, now Headmaster."

"Why are you being like this Minerva? Severus is here at my request to help correct the situation we find ourselves in."

"As I just told you Headmaster, he is attempting to tamper with a student in my house who he will not even be teaching and I do not want his interference, please tell him to leave."

"What do you mean I won't be teaching him? Of course I will, Potions is a compulsory class!"

"Potions may be compulsory, but learning it from you is not, and this is one of the classes that Lord Potter has formally advised me he will be using private tutors for, which is his right. Headmaster, are you going to ask Professor Snape to leave, or must I table this discussion for another time when I can address you alone?"

"Minerva, this confrontational attitude is only making the situation worse, I have told you that I asked Severus here to assist us."

"Very well Headmaster, good night." With that she turned and headed for the stairs.

"Professor McGonagall, I demand that you come back here right now!"

She turned and looked at him with a determined glint in her eye, making him wonder what had happened to change his usually pliable Deputy Headmistress. "Headmaster, as I have already pointed out, matters to do with Lord Potter have nothing to do with Professor Snape and I refuse to discuss them in front of him when he has no authority over him in any official capacity. You have refused my request to have him leave, so I will not discuss Lord Potter until I can meet with you alone. I will only say that Lord Potter has provided the relevant excerpts of all the requisite regulations which confirm that he has required nothing that is not his right to do so as the head of a Noble and Most Ancient House, and point out that Hogwarts itself has accepted his rights by creating his quarters and granting his staff access. Good night Headmaster." She left before they could speak.

* * *

In the morning, she and the other professors sat down to work out the first years' class schedules. Minerva advised the others that Harry Potter would be attending the classes for Transfiguration, Charms, Astronomy, Herbology and Flying but would be utilising private tutors for Potions, History of Magic and Defence Against the Dark Arts, as was all students' right. She also noted to Madam Hooch that he had a matter that he wished to discuss with her in regard to the Flying classes.

Even though he'd been told about this, Snape gave the expected response and went on a tirade about Harry not attending his class when she formally advised him. Minerva merely nodded and formally asked the question about Lord Potter and his tutor being allocated times to use the potions lab, nodding again at the expected response of. "If the high and mighty _Lord_ Potter is too good to attend my classes, there's no bloody way he's ever using _my_ potions labs!" She asked Professor Quirrell whether Lord Potter would be allocated times for the exclusive use of the Defence rooms with his tutors and Quirrell stuttered that they were always occupied by classes except at night.

Minerva nodded again and formally stated. "Rooms must be allocated for Lord Potter and his tutors to study Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts." At that, Hogwarts magically created the rooms and gave access to Harry and his staff only, the locations appeared on the parchment in front of her. This was another thing that worried and aggravated Minerva, the right to do this was part of the professors' magical contracts with Hogwarts, but Albus had never advised her of this, nor anyone else as far as she could determine, she had had to be told how to do it by a first year student.

* * *

At breakfast, everyone was curious about the goblins and wizard who were standing by the wall near the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. Minerva smiled to herself as she waited for Snape and Dumbledore to arrive, as she had the scrolls tucked up her sleeve that detailed the regulations confirming the right of the head of a noble house to have guards with him at all times and the fact that the head of a noble house couldn't be challenged about his staff, as well as the formal roles of Lord Potter's staff. Remus Lupin was listed as Steward, Champion and Defence Against the Dark Arts tutor for Lord Potter and as such could not be denied the right to accompany Lord Potter wherever he went.

Breakfast was spiced up when the owls arrived with the morning mail, because both Percy and Ronald Weasley received howlers from their mother, much to the delight of the other students, none more so than Fred and George Weasley because they actually got to see someone else get howlers from their mother for once, and they had little time for their insufferable brothers. Percy's howler let everyone in the great hall know that he had been stripped of his prefect's badge for extremely inappropriate behaviour on the train, while Ron's told the few who hadn't already heard about what he got up to on the train and that he now had a private room because the other boys weren't comfortable sharing a dorm room with him.

Minerva noted Harry looking at Remus and getting a thoughtful nod when Molly was making vague threats to Ron about what would happen if he'd done anything to interfere with their plans for _him,_ and she silently agreed that that sounded rather suspicious. Mind you, Molly Weasley had never been accused of being bright, in fact off the top of her head Minerva couldn't think of Molly being known for anything positive. Between apparently sleeping her way through half the boys at Hogwarts and those love potion scandals, Molly Prewett as she was known back then had had a less than stellar reputation. Minerva never could understand why a good man like Arthur Weasley would marry someone like that, which made the stories that she'd entrapped him with a love potion all the more believable.

When Snape swept into the Great Hall with his robes billowing and saw Remus, Minerva got the show that she'd been waiting for. He immediately started shouting and pulled out his wand, running across the hall like a madman with it extended in front of him. Minerva and Filius Flitwick looked at each other, impressed, when Remus just stood there calmly waiting for Snape and only took him out with silent disarming, binding and silencing spells when Snape began to curse him. Filius had noted Remus palming his wand when Snape began his charge, but Minerva had missed it, as had Snape obviously. In the silence that followed, everyone could hear Remus addressing Snape conversationally. "Good to see you Snivelous, I see that you still telegraph your intent rather obviously."

Dumbledore appeared just after this and demanded to know what was going on. Harry stood to intercept him as he stormed towards Remus, and Minerva and Filius hurried to join the group before anything happened. Harry stepping into his path stopped Dumbledore's motion and the fact that everyone was waiting with baited breath meant that many heard him as he addressed Dumbledore politely. "My champion defended himself against an unprovoked attack from Professor Snape sir, in fact it was quite dangerous, the way that Professor Snape was running across the hall with his wand out like that, he was so worked up I was expecting him spray bursts of accidental magic into the students."

Minerva and Filius had arrived by then and Minerva added. "Lord Potter is correct Headmaster, it was quite dangerous, Professor Snape was enraged for some reason when he saw Mister Lupin, he started shouting at him and ran through the Great Hall with his wand out like a madman, it was a wonder that none of the students were hurt by being trampled if nothing else."

Dumbledore turned on her, about to vent his rage on her but saw Filius and Pomona Sprout there, looking on and swallowed what he was about to say, as he couldn't say that in front of the other two heads of house without serious repercussions. He turned back to Remus and brusquely demanded that he release Professor Snape. Remus bowed with a smile, saying. "Of course Headmaster." and did as requested.

As soon as he was released, Snape dove for his wand, but it was gone, he snarled. "Where is it?" then went at Remus, only to have someone behind him call out. "Petrificus Totalus!" so he crashed to the floor again.

Dumbledore turned to glare at Filius but he looked him in the eye without flinching. "We cannot allow this behaviour in the Great Hall Headmaster, it is setting a very bad example for our students!" At that Dumbledore turned his back on him and addressed Remus. "I will not allow you in my school, leave now and take these goblins with you!"

Harry turned to Minerva. "I was under the impression that I had provided you with all the necessary documentation to resolve this matter last night Professor McGonagall? Why is the Headmaster saying this?"

Minerva covered up a smile as she responded. "I must apologise Lord Potter, I went to the Headmaster to address these matters last night as we discussed, but the Potions Master and Head of Slytherin would not leave and I was not prepared to discuss the private affairs of a member of Gryffindor in front of him. I was hoping to discuss it with the Headmaster after Professor Snape had left, but the Headmaster did not advise me when he was free."

She extracted the scrolls from her sleeve as she turned to Dumbledore, holding them out to him. "Headmaster, this is the documentation that confirms that Lord Potter, as the head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter, has required nothing of Hogwarts that he is not entitled to."

Dumbledore snatched them off her. "Professor Flitwick, release Professor Snape immediately! Mister Potter, come with me, we must discuss these _requirements_ of your's."

When Remus and the goblin guard stepped forward, Dumbledore barked. "Not you! I do not require anyone but Professor Snape's counsel on this!"

He and the Hogwarts professors were amazed by what a commanding tone Harry could assume as an eleven year old boy when he responded. "I would suggest that you examine the documentation that you have just been provided Headmaster. Under the rules of the Ancient Houses and the Wizengamot, you may not interfere with the right of a Head a Noble and Most Ancient House to be accompanied by his champion and steward, of which Mr Lupin is both, and a suitable guard. Furthermore you may not challenge or expel any of the staff of the Head of a Noble and Most Ancient House, and Professor Snape does not hold any position that entitles him to be involved in any discussion of my affairs. The only members of the Hogwarts staff other than yourself who hold positions which would justify me being required to allow them to attend these discussions are the Deputy Headmaster or Headmistress and the Head of Gryffindor, of which Professor McGonagall is both. Therefore, if we are to have a discussion in your office, it will include no-one but yourself, Professor McGonagall, my staff and me."

Dumbledore drew himself up. "Mister Potter, you will not dictate what is to be done in Hogwarts to me!"

"Given the tone that this discussion is taking Headmaster, I must insist that I be addressed as Lord Potter as is my right, and I am not dictating anything, I am merely reminding you of the rules of the Ancient Houses and the Wizengamot. I must admit to being surprised that you would need to be reminded, given your position as the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. If you are not prepared to formally accept and act in full compliance with the rights accorded to me as the head of the House of Potter, I will withdraw from Hogwarts here and now and find an institution on the continent that is prepared to do so. Of course to avoid any furore over the matter the House of Potter will be required to formally advise the Wizengamot of the reasons behind our departure in full."

Dumbledore drew a breath to regain control of himself. "Very well _Lord_ Potter, come along."

"Just to be sure we are in agreement Headmaster, who will be included in this discussion?"

Dumbledore fumed as he bit out. "You, your staff and Professor McGonagall!"

Harry bowed to him. "Very well Headmaster, lead the way."

Snape snarled. "Surely you're not letting them get away with this? They've made fools of us and stolen my wand!"

At that his wand floated across to him from Filius. "There's only one person here who's made a fool of anyone here Severus, and I took your wand for safekeeping to avoid you making more of a fool of yourself."

It was obvious that Snape wanted to curse him, Remus and just about everyone else, but even in the state he was in he could see that he was one step away from being arrested for his actions and struggled to control himself.

* * *

In Dumbledore's office, he went through the documents provided carefully, searching for something that he could use to regain control of the situation, but he couldn't find a thing. Desperate, he tried to use Remus's Lycanthropy.

"I'm afraid that we cannot allow a werewolf to remain inside Hogwarts, it is simply too much of a risk to our students. Mister Lupin must leave immediately."

Harry looked at him quizzically. "And yet he attended here with your knowledge of his affliction and his achievements and deportment were sufficiently impressive for him to be made a prefect? Hogwarts has recognised Remus and made his room suitable for his affliction, not that it's as much of a problem now as it was when he was a student because we ensure that he always has a proper supply of wolfsbane. Quite aside from that Headmaster, I must again remind you that you cannot challenge or expel any of my staff from Hogwarts."

Dumbledore was clutching at straws now. "Your insistence on separate study for some classes is also causing difficulties _Lord_ Potter, as it would interfere with our regular classes for those classes which require special facilities."

Minerva covered her smile as she said. "Oh, I am sorry Lord Potter, here is your schedule, I missed giving it to you due to the dramas in the Great Hall. As the Headmaster said, Professors Snape and Quirrell have advised that they could not grant you exclusive time slots to use of the Potions lab or Defence room because of scheduling requirements, but that command you made me aware of worked and Hogwarts has created the rooms you need and given you access. You will have to set them up before you can use them I am afraid."

Harry smiled as he took his schedule. "Thank you Professor McGonagall. I must admit to being surprised that you did not already know of that command, after all it's in the Hogwarts rules along with the rights of any student to employ a private tutor for any class where they do not believe that the regular class meets their needs."

Minerva turned to Dumbledore. "It was quite useful, did you know that Hogwarts will create rooms for accepted requirements from any current professor Headmaster?"

Dumbledore harrumphed. "Of course, as I remember, you were told about that when you became a professor Minerva."

"No Albus, I wasn't, and Filius, Pomona and Septima had never heard of it before I used the command this morning either."

"I am sure that you are mistaken about that, but we don't have time to go into that, we still have much to cover. _Lord_ Potter, as you have chosen to employ private tutors for Potions, History of Magic and Defence Against the Dark Arts, you will have to be tested by our masters of these subjects to determine your current level."

Harry looked at him quizzically again. "Given that I am just starting as a first year Headmaster, I do not really understand what I am to be tested on, but if I am to be tested on these subjects I will require any testing to be done by Department of Magical Education."

"Mister Potter, I have already told you that you will not dictate what is done at Hogwarts!"

" _Mister_ Dumbledore, I am not dictating anything, however there is no official requirement for testing where students choose to use private tutors, therefore if you as the current Headmaster insist on testing being done I, as head of the House of Potter, will require that that testing be done by the proper officials."

Minerva had picked up the regulations in regard to the use of private tutors and re-read them. "I must agree with Lord Potter here Headmaster, there is absolutely no mention of any requirements in regard to students being tested when they choose to employ private tutors, merely evidence of the qualifications of those tutors, which Lord Potter has provided. Therefore if we are going to require him to be tested, that testing should indeed be done by the appropriate officials."

Dumbledore looked angrily at her. "Very well Professor McGonagall, get the officials up here to test _Lord_ Potter. The cost of bringing these officials in will have to be borne by the House of Potter."

"I am not sure why we should have to pay for requirements that you have created Headmaster, but very well, we will bear the cost."

Dumbledore was getting frustrated that an eleven year old boy who he'd expected to buckle immediately was defeating him on every point and he suddenly said that he had more important issues to address, so as they'd covered all the matters under discussion, it was time for them to leave.

* * *

It was almost time for the first Transfiguration class so Harry called for Dommy to bring his books and headed straight to the class. Hermione, the girl from the train, was already there, along with a few Ravenclaw students. She looked disappointed when he headed to the back of the class after saying hello, but he explained that he had to be up the back because of his guards, who were currently Remus and Rackclaw.

Hermione kept glancing back at Harry, and was relieved to see that it was Neville, the boy who'd lost his toad, sharing his desk. Professor McGonagall introduced them to the subject and told them to start reading the text, changing into her cat animagus form and sitting on her desk at the front of the class as an object lesson while they did so.

The last two Gryffindor boys, Ron Weasley and Seamus Finnegan, were rather loud as they tried to sneak in nearly fifteen minutes late and thought that they were safe because they couldn't see her. Ron of course made a stupid comment about what the look on 'old McGonagall's face would be if she knew they were late just before she leapt off her desk, changing back as she did so, to give them a dressing down.

The rest of the first day was largely uneventful, and Minerva sent an owl off to a friend in the Department of Magical Education to arrange for someone to come up and test Harry for the subjects that he would be using private tutors for. The response that she got was that there was no requirement to test students starting with private tutors, only testing to replace the assignments and tests in the regular classes, but when she wrote back to say that the Headmaster was insisting on it, she got an official response that someone would be there to test test him the following day. She also received a private note to say that the officials were fighting over who would get to test the Boy Who Lived.

The person who turned up to test Harry was actually Griselda Marchbanks, the Governor of the Wizarding Examinations Authority, as she'd pulled rank for the privilege of testing Harry Potter. What was meant to be a cursory examination for Potions, History of Magic and Defence Against the Dark Arts quickly became rather more, because Harry handled the initial questions so easily that she kept giving him more advanced questions, and then expanded it to include Transfiguration, Charms, Herbiology, Care of Magical Creatures and Astronomy. She even gave him questions on Arithmancy and Ancient Runes.

The official findings she provided for Dumbledore was that in her view Lord Potter was currently capable of successfully completing any first year examinations in Potions, History of Magic and Defence Against the Dark Arts, but she pulled Minerva aside to quietly tell her what she'd observed. "That boy is at third year level, if not more, in any of the subjects that I tested him on, and I tested him on everything but Divination. What is he doing here? He's wasting his time in first year classes."

Minerva shook her head. "The Potter ancestors have insisted that he get a good magical education, but they're also determined to keep him safe, so they've sent him here with all the relevant information he needs and protection that can be required for the head of a Noble House. They've also insisted on private tutors wherever Hogwarts' professors weren't deemed good enough to help him. I'm just worried about what game Albus is playing with him, what with things like this testing and the other things he's tried so far."

Griselda also shook her head. "Well Lord Potter is going to be a force to reckoned with if this is where he is now, not to mention the whole Boy Who Lived thing. Good luck." With that she flooed back to the Ministry and Minerva delivered her official findings to Dumbledore. Dumbledore wasn't happy with that, as he'd wanted to see the tests and pick Griselda's brain on what she'd found, so he tried to get more out of her with a floo call. She testily told him that she'd wasted over half a day coming up to test a boy who any fool could have seen was capable, and that was on top of the fact that there was no requirement to test students starting with a private tutor, so now she had to catch up on the work that had been piling up in her absence. Dumbledore got the message then and gave up on getting any more information.

* * *

Their first flying lesson was interesting, as Madam Hooch was in a very good mood and no-one could work out why at first. It was actually Ron Weasley who provided the clue when he said that he thought the school brooms were supposed to be dodgy old things that wouldn't fly straight and dumped you off half the time. They tuned him out then because he started going on about. "That'd be bloody right, my rotten brothers wound me up about that just like they did about everything else!"

The brighter ones in the flying class noted that the brooms they had here were all new and the same type. They were a basic model but quite good enough for the type of flying they'd be doing in their lessons. It didn't take much for most of them to put two and two together and work out that someone must have donated the new brooms to the school, and Hermione had a good idea who that was from the smiles Madam Hooch was sending Harry's way. Most of them didn't care about the details though, they were just happy that learning to fly was a lot easier than their older brothers and sisters had kept telling them it was.

Neville did get himself hurt when he crashed because he couldn't control his broom in his nervousness, but the rest of the class were treated to a remarkable show of flying from Harry when he went after Malfoy to retrieve the rememberall that Neville had dropped when he crashed and Malfoy had grabbed to ridicule him. Malfoy obviously knew how to fly, but he didn't have a fraction of the talent that Harry showed when he went after him to retrieve Neville's rememberall.

* * *

Heading back to the Gryffindor Tower one day after the last class with Hermione and Neville, the staircase they were climbing suddenly started moving and Angela (Angela Fawley, Harry's Potions and Magical History tutor and guard) and the goblin guard had been too far back to jump on before it was too far away. Angela called out for them to get to the top of the stairs and get off before anything bad happened, so Harry urged the other two to do that. When they got into the hallway at the top of the stairs, they decided that they must be in the third floor corridor that Dumbledore had told them was banned, so anyone found there would be in serious trouble. They just put his 'horrible death' rhetoric down to theatrics.

Harry wasn't worried, as Angela and the goblin guard had seen the staircase move to here while they were stuck on it, but Hermione was a muggleborn, so she was worried about being thrown out and losing her chance of doing magic. At the same time, Neville's grandmother opposed Dumbledore in the Wizengamot, so he was worried about Dumbledore using any incidents here against her. That was why they panicked when they saw Filch, the squib caretaker's cat Mrs Norris, because they knew that Filch wouldn't be far behind. Harry didn't care about being thrown out but he knew they did, so he ran with them.

There was something strange about that hallway, because there didn't seem to be any doors opening off of it, until they saw a big door further down. When they reached it, it was locked, but Hermione grabbed her wand and invoked a spell to unlock it. "Alohomora." and they tumbled through. Once through the door, they realised that they'd been wrong, they hadn't been in the banned corridor before, but they were now. Harry was looking along the ceiling of the corridor until Neville tugged on his sleeve, as he looked down, he saw why Neville was trying to get his attention and why the door was locked. "Oh. Merlin!"

The locked door was to keep people away from the dog that they'd just woken, or to be more precise, the cerberus the size of a horse that they'd just woken. The three heads were slowly blinking their eyes as it stumbled to its feet, Harry reached out blindly to grab Hermione's robes and pull her behind him. She started to say "Harr..." but stopped when she saw the cerberus. Hermione didn't argue when he whispered. "Door!" She turned and opened it slowly and quietly to avoid startling the cerberus. As soon as she and Neville were safely through the door, she whispered. "Harry! Come on!" and he whirled around, jumping through with the cerberus snapping at his heels and helping the others pull the door closed.

Harry called for Dommy and had him take them back to his quarters, and they were talking there about what had happened. He understood the horrible death part now and wanted to go after Dumbledore for keeping something like that inside the school, but the others were worried about the repercussions to their families so he let it go. Neville was muttering to himself about why they'd have it locked in there until Hermione piped up. "Didn't you notice what it was standing on Neville?"

He looked at her and said. "Standing on? No Hermione, I was more interested in all those teeth in its three heads!"

"It was standing on a trapdoor Neville! It was guarding something."

"Oh…..Oohhhhh."

Just before she headed back to her dorm room, Hermione said in all seriousness. "I'm going to bed before anyone does something that will get us killed, or even worse, expelled!"

Even Neville grinned at the ridiculousness of that statement, so he said. "Night Harry." and headed back to his dorm room, still shaking his head about what Hermione had said.

* * *

In their Charms class with Professor Flitwick on Halloween, Harry knew the levitation spells they were trying, so he was just going through the motions until someone else got it right as being the second to do it didn't attract as much attention as being the first. It was funny to watch Hermione trying to correct Ron's errors and help him, until he got nasty with her about it. Of course he sulked when she did it perfectly after he challenged her to show him how to do it then if she was so smart and as they were heading off to the Great Hall after class he was ridiculing her to the others for what she was telling him in class, saying that she was a nightmare and that it was no wonder she didn't have any friends.

The rotten git almost certainly knew that she was right behind him when he was saying that, because he had a smug satisfied look on his face when she ran off, all but in tears. Harry was coming to realise more and more how much Ron was like his cousin Dudley, he may not be going around physically beating people up but that was probably because he was afraid of getting hurt himself, and he was just as much of a bully.

That night at the Halloween Feast, Harry asked where Hermione was and Neville said that Lavender Brown had told him that she'd been crying in the bathroom all afternoon. Just then the doors burst open and Professor Quirrell ran in, shouting that there was a troll in the dungeon before collapsing dramatically. Dumbledore sent the students back to their respective house towers under their prefects' escorts and called on the professors to come with him to deal with this troll.

Following their prefects back to Gryffindor Tower, Harry suddenly stopped and grabbed Neville's arm. Neville jumped and asked. "What?"

"Hermione!"

"What about her?"

"She doesn't know about the troll, she's probably still in the bathroom!"

Harry turned and bolted, and Neville hardly hesitated before he dropped his bag and raced after him.

As they ran, they realised that they didn't really know _which_ girls' bathroom that Hermione was in, but then they smelt something really rotten and felt as much as heard heavy footsteps coming down the hall.

They ducked out of sight was the troll appeared around the corner, peeking out to see it duck its head and shuffle into the bathroom entry there.

Harry looked at Neville and whispered. "With our luck, what's the bet that that's the one Hermione's in?"

That was answered when they heard a girl's scream and they took off running.

Inside the bathroom, it looked as though a tornado had gone through there, it was hard to believe that the troll had entered less than thirty seconds before. The stalls were mostly flattened and most of the sinks had been smashed off the wall.

They saw the troll raising its club again and then they saw the huddled shape on the floor in front of it. They started screaming and shouting and throwing things at it to try and get its attention but it appeared that a troll can only register one thing at a time, so Harry did the only thing he could think of. He took a running jump onto its back and started shooting stinging hexes at its head.

That got its attention at least, but it was going to take a lot more than stingers to stop a fully grown mountain troll. When the troll started swinging its club around in an attempt to try and stop what was happening though, Harry got an idea and grabbed its ear, wrenching at it almost hard enough to pull it off. Sure enough the troll swung the club at what was hurting it and smashed itself in the head. Once it had knocked itself out, it toppled backwards, smashing the last of the sinks off the wall as it went.

Harry leapt off as it toppled back, landing in a crouch on the floor before racing past the troll to make sure Hermione was alright. She was wet and frightened but apparently nothing more than that, so he helped her to her feet and hurried her out past the troll. Angela was checking over Neville while he was staring at the troll, stunned as the realisation of just what they'd taken on sunk in. The goblin guard moved in on the troll, preparing to finish it off if it moved at all.

Angela quickly checked Hermione to make sure she was OK, then turned to Harry, and slapped him. "Never frighten me like that again! We finally get here and what do we see? You clinging to a mountain troll's back shooting hexes at its head, then you grab its ear and make it knock itself out. How in Merlin's name did you know that that would work?"

"Well I was hoping…." Angela's hand went up again but she was stopped by Minerva exclaiming. "What in Merlin's name is going on here?"

They turned to see the Hogwarts professors taking in the scene in front of them in horror.

Hermione spoke up. "It was my fault Professor, I thought that I could handle the troll but I didn't realise just how big and nasty it was. It had me cornered down there and Harry and Neville came after me. They tried to get its attention and then Harry jumped on its back and somehow managed to make it knock itself out. Without them I'm sure I'd be dead."

Minerva looked in disbelief at Angela but she nodded. "We didn't manage to get here until Harry was on the troll's back Professor but from that point on, that was what we saw. We should have gotten here quicker but neither Krogar or I can run that fast."

Minerva looked in horror from Harry, to the troll, to the destruction around the bathroom, Neville and finally Hermione. "I am very disappointed with you Miss Granger, I thought that you were far too smart to go after a fully grown mountain troll like that. Twenty points from Gryffindor!"

She looked at Harry and Neville then. "You two were just as stupid, I know that you wished to save Miss Granger but did you really believe that you had a chance against a mountain troll? It was sheer dumb luck that you survived, but you did, and you saved Miss Granger. Thank you my lions, twenty points to Gryffindor for each of you."

She turned to Angela. "Can I trust you to get them back to the Gryffindor Tower safely Miss Fawley?"

Angela nodded. "Yes Professor."

"Then please get them out of here while we deal with this troll."

Angela called for Krogar and they shepherded the three students out of the bathroom. She took them all back to Harry's quarters so that they could be checked over properly after they'd gotten cleaned up. Tally and Dommy fetched Hermione and Neville's clothes from their dorm rooms and Tally cleaned and repaired their robes and clothes while they were having something to eat.

After they'd heard Hermione and Angela's stories, Harry had to sit through Remus, Tally, Dommy and Rackclaw railing at him for taking such a stupid risk in front of Hermione and Neville, but the kiss on the cheek from Hermione when she thanked him for saving her took some of the sting out of it, even if he did go bright red. He did notice that Neville just got a smile when she thanked him.

When they heard the real reason that Hermione was in that bathroom, Remus and Angela were angry, Remus all the more so because he knew the Weasleys and knew that Arthur at least would be thoroughly ashamed of his youngest son's behaviour.

After the others had left, Remus and Angela had a more serious talk with Harry, telling him it was time for him to start learning things that were more powerful than stinging hexes if he was going to go going after mountain trolls.

* * *

In the Great Hall the next day, Harry noticed that Snape now had a pronounced limp that he didn't have the day before. At first Harry didn't pay any attention to it, but when Hermione and Neville sat beside him and Hermione asked him how he was feeling after the day before, it suddenly occurred to him to wonder just how Snape had hurt his leg. There had been no time for any of the professors to have had a run in with the troll before it went into the girls' bathroom, and come to think of it Snape hadn't been with the rest of professors when they turned up in the bathroom, so just how had he hurt his leg?

He was talking it over with the others and something else occurred to him, they had seen something else that looked almost as dangerous as the troll in the castle recently, the cerberus that was guarding that trapdoor in the third floor corridor. The others weren't quite ready to accept that even Snape would actually let something as dangerous as a troll into the castle just to give him a clear run to whatever was under the trapdoor, but the more they tried to come up with a believable alternative and couldn't, the more they were coming around.

* * *

Sharing the experience with the troll bonded the three of them to each other, and their bond that was all the stronger because they had all been alone before this. Harry had basically been a slave for the Dursleys and went from there to a solitary existence in Potter Manor, where all the other living were adults so he didn't have any contemporary friends. Neville grew up alone with his Gran, as his parents had been taken away from him around the same time Harry's were, they were still alive but they'd been cursed to the point of losing their minds by the Death Eaters. Hermione had her parents, but that was all she had, she had been a magical person in a non-magical world and just about all of her contemporaries had shunned her as a freak and a bookworm, not as bad as Harry had it with the Dursleys perhaps, but she'd had no-one to talk to but her parents.

Their similar roots, compatible interests and shared adventure with the troll forged them into a close group, and others didn't like that, as the ones who'd been getting away with baiting Hermione and ridiculing Neville now found that they faced three strong people who watched each other's backs. All of a sudden their attackers were forced to back down and run away whenever they tried to have their fun with the loners. Of course Hermione and Harry had to introduce Neville to the Three Musketeers when they started referring to the three of them as that, and Neville quite enjoyed the story.

One of the ones who didn't like seeing these three as a stronger group was Snape, because he quickly had to learn the same lesson that Dumbledore had, you don't want to go up against the House of Potter unless you have every angle covered, and if you're going up against the young Lord Potter you're probably deluding yourself if you think that. The first time Snape descended on them to take a pile of points off Gryffindor and assign detentions on the basis of Malfoy's fabricated stories, Harry just called for Professor McGonagall and demanded as the head of the House of Potter that Malfoy be questioned under a truth potion if he would not recant his lies.

Malfoy buckled under the pressure and admitted the truth, but while Snape had to back down on the detentions he'd given, he claimed he couldn't do anything about the points that had been taken from Gryffindor, so Professor McGonagall took delight in following Harry's suggestion of taking at least twice the points from Slytherin for their lies and actions. They had to go through the same process a few more times before Snape got it through to Malfoy that if he didn't stop making Slytherin a laughing stock with his ineffectual stupid and petty attempts to make himself look important, his life would be a living hell.

The problem was that Snape then changed tack and took all of this out on Hermione and Neville in potions where Harry couldn't protect them, at least until Harry made a proposal to them. Owls went home to the Grangers and Neville's Gran that night, and the next morning they presented the parental permission to Professor McGonagall for Hermione and Neville to be pulled out of the Potions, History of Magic and Defence Against the Dark Arts classes so that they could join Harry with his private tutors.

When Dumbledore summoned them to his office, Minerva went with them, taking another copy of the documentation that Harry supplied on students' rights to use private tutors along. As expected, Snape was there and he and Dumbledore were quite displeased to see Minerva. Dumbledore tried to tell her that she wasn't required and get rid of her, but she put her foot down and said as the head of both Hermione and Neville's house, it was her place to manage these scheduling changes for them. Then she came back with a demand to know what Snape was doing there, because he had no authority or right to interfere with students in her house.

Dumbledore threw them out in frustration, but demanded that they be tested as Potter had been out of spite. That was a serious mistake, because he, the Chairman of the Hogwarts Board, the Head of the Department of Magical Education and the Minister of Magic all received howlers from Griselda Marchbanks, demanding to know what games Albus Dumbledore was trying to pull. She pointed out that they'd tested Lord Potter against their better judgement because Dumbledore insisted and Lord Potter was a brand new student. She'd told Dumbledore then that there was no requirement or reason to test students at that point, and now he was demanding testing of two other students who's records for their performance to date at least matched the median for the classes that they were transferring out of, so why was he wasting examiners' time with his games? The other howlers got Dumbledore very angry floo calls from their recipients and the messages were very similar, 'If I ever get anything like this again there will be a new Headmaster at Hogwarts'.

* * *

Once they were all working with Angela and Remus, Hermione and Neville were progressing a lot faster, and they found that they had more free time as well, more than a little of which they spent with Hagrid because they all liked him.

One day when they were there, Harry brought up the subject of Snape having a run-in with the cerberus that was guarding whatever it was on the third floor again, and Hagrid almost dropped the teapot.

"How do you know about Fluffy?"

The other three looked at each other. "Fluffy?"

"Yes, Fluffy, he's mine. I bought him off some Greek wizard in a pub. I'm loaning him to Professor Dumbledore to guard the….."

"Guard the what?"

"Nothing! Forget I said anything, it's a secret!"

"But Snape's trying to steal it!"

"That's codswallop that is! Professor Snape works for Hogwarts, he wouldn't do that!"

"Now listen to me, all three of ya, don't go meddlin' in things that don't concern ya. Forget about Fluffy and forget about what he's hidin'. It's none of your business. It's between Professor Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel it is!"

They left soon after that, satisfied that they'd made mileage but feeling a little guilty about confusing Hagrid to get what the needed. Their guilt wasn't enough to stop them looking into Nicholas Flamel though.

 **A/N: I hate the damned auto-incorrect functions in all word processors now, if you don't go back and check every word, half of them will be changed.**


	3. Something Old Something New

**Usual disclaimers, no rights to any characters portrayed and this isn't the real world or a Disney Princess story.**

Albus Dumbledore had been a very worried wizard since the troll incident, for most of the past ten years he had been content that his plans were all working as he wished, and then the Boy Who Lived had come to Hogwarts and suddenly nothing was as it was meant to be, and it had only gotten worse since he faced that troll. Back at the start of the eighties, everything was falling into place after Severus Snape came crawling to him, begging to be saved from Lord Voldemort after he was sent by Tom to spy on him, and it hadn't been difficult to blackmail him into turning back on Tom and being his spy as well.

He'd also managed to reduce the threat of those damned Marauders working out too much by sowing the seeds of doubt about the werewolf in the minds of the others which made them much more malleable, as Lupin had been the brightest of the lot unless you counted Lily Evans, or Lily Potter as she was by then. Then he got that prophecy from Sybil Trelawney, and that idiot Snape had run straight to Tom with the first part of it, at least that was all he had overheard. Everything would have been fine if the fool had come to him first, as a few simple memory charms would have ensured that Tom would have never heard about it, but he didn't, and what's more he didn't say anything about telling Tom until it was too late.

With the two boys being born only a day apart, the prophecy could have just as easily applied to either of them, but Tom had confirmed that it was the Potters' son when he tried to kill him and failed, leaving him with the prophecised mark. Tom had managed to kill his own body in the attempt, but the prophecy said that he could not die while the boy lived so Albus had to stash the infant away somewhere safe while he worked out what it meant. Securing the child of the prophecy had been too important to protect the Longbottoms, it was unfortunate that Tom's Death Eaters took their frustration out on them like that and tortured them until their minds were gone, but warning them might have shown his hand to the Death Eaters before the Boy Who Lived could be spirited away, so they had to be sacrificed for the greater good.

Of course he hadn't told either couple about the prophecy either as he needed Tom to show him which of the boys was the child of the prophecy. He had judged the risks inherent in keeping that information from them to be justifiable because the parents weren't necessary for the prophecy, only the child.

When the magical device he'd had monitoring the Potters and the Longbottoms shrieked to say that someone had died, he'd checked it to see who had set it off and then apparited as close as he could to the Potter cottage in Godric's Hollow. By the time he arrived, the only ones left alive there were the infant and a dithering Peter Pettigrew. Pettigrew was raving too much to get any sense out of him, so he'd ripped the memories from his mind, seeing Tom kill James, and then Lily after she'd begged him to spare her child's life. It was what happened next that was amazing, as he'd watched as Tom cast the killing curse on the infant, only to have it rebound on him so that he killed himself.

He could detect dark magic on the child around the mark from the killing curse on his forehead but there was nothing left at the cottage to work with, so he had wiped out Pettigrew's memories of the day and took the child back to Hogwarts, leaving him in Hagrid's safe keeping while he went to prepare his Aunt's house. As she was his mother's sister, setting the blood wards there would mask his presence and hide him away until he could be of use. He knew that Tom would return, so he needed to keep him alive, but he also needed him broken so that he could be easily moulded into what he could use and the Dursleys would be perfect for that as they rivalled Tom's most brutal Death Eaters in cruelty, if not ability.

Salting him away with the muggles hadn't gone quite to plan, as McGonagall had somehow worked out what he was doing and followed him, so she was there waiting when Hagrid brought the child but that had been dealt with when he obviliated her and the oaf upon his return to Hogwarts. Since then she'd remained loyal and malleable until the Potter child arrived at Hogwarts.

Sirius Black was another problem that he had had to deal with after that oaf Hagrid told him that he was under orders from Dumbledore to take the child south to hide him away, but getting rid of _him_ hadn't been difficult, especially after Pettigrew had shown his rat cunning, _his_ animagus was certainly true to form! When Pettigrew wiped out those muggles in his escape and left a finger at the scene, it hadn't been difficult at all to convince Crouch of Black's guilt and have him thrown straight into Azkaban without any investigation or trial. The fact that no-one but Black, Pettigrew and himself knew that Pettigrew was really the secret keeper for the Potter's cottage in Godric's Hollow made it ridiculously easy to convince Crouch and the others that Black had betrayed the Potters to Tom and got them killed, and from there it was only logical to blame all the other deaths on him as well.

If the child had stayed with the Dursleys he was sure that he wouldn't be having the problems he was at the moment, but the monitoring devices had only confirmed that he was alive, not where he was. It would have caused problems if the boy were to recognise him when he arrived at Hogwarts so he'd made a point of only speaking to Dursley and his wife whenever he went there to enquire as to the child's health and threaten them to keep him suitably downtrodden. Perhaps he had frightened them too much though, given that they had obviously decided that it would be safer to lie to him than admit that the child was gone, so he didn't discover that until three and a quarter years later when a very different child to what he was expecting arrived at Hogwarts.

If he was feeling charitable, he might have admitted how impressive the young Lord Potter was, but he wasn't because all he could think of was how in Merlin's name he was going to get him under control, as that child had had an answer to everything he had tried so far.

* * *

That was another thing he could not understand, Potter's arrival had also done set off something in regard to the Hogwarts elves. For most of the past ten years the elf situation had been better than ever before at Hogwarts, there never seemed to be any problem getting things done and he had been living like a king. But ever since Potter had arrived, he had to wait for what he wanted, if he got it at all, and when he did he quite often didn't get what he wanted either. That was when he found out that he was not able to command the Hogwarts elves because when he demanded obedience he was advised via the resident ghosts that only Hogwarts itself could do that.

Dumbledore's problem came from the fact that in his arrogance, he had paid little attention to the magical contracts that he entered into when he became Hogwarts' headmaster. If he had been more diligent, he might have noted that the house elves of Hogwarts were drawn from the houses of the descendants of the four founders of Hogwarts because the magical contracts that they established when they founded Hogwarts committed them to providing the house elves to run the castle. For the past ten years, a higher proportion of those house elves had come from the House of Potter because the family's holdings had been largely shut down with its head of house and sole descendent missing. Therefore, when Harry arrived at Hogwarts as Lord Potter and the Potter elves suddenly discovered that Dumbledore was in fact an enemy of the House of Potter, they all refused to have anything to do with him. Most of those who were connected with Slytherin in any way were also having problems getting things done due to Harry's issues with that house.

* * *

With control of the situation slipping further from his grasp, Dumbledore was desperate to find a way to get into Potter's good graces, and he suddenly remembered something which might help in that endeavour. While his father had settled down a little in his last year at Hogwarts, he was still a Marauder, so he hadn't stopped getting into trouble with Sirius Black. On one of those occasions, a marvellous cloak of invisibility had been confiscated from Potter. It was a Potter family heirloom and Dumbledore had never seen anything of its like.

When Potter had requested its return when he left Hogwarts, he was told that it had disappeared and no-one had any idea what had happened to it as Dumbledore wasn't about to give up something like that once he had it in his hands. He was at desperate straits now though and presenting the cloak to the boy and telling him about how his father had left it with him for safekeeping may be just what he needed to get him on side.

Lupin may be a problem if he knew the true story of the cloak, but he had been a prefect then and it had generally been believed that the other two kept him out of the loop on their pranks because of that. Given that the only viable reason that Potter would have had the cloak of invisibility at Hogwarts was to use it for pranks, it was likely that they never told Lupin about it so Dumbledore thought it should be safe to chance it. Yes, returning the cloak to him as a Christmas gift and telling that he had been keeping it safe for his father would be a good way to buy his way into the boy's good graces.

* * *

Harry, on the other hand, had been a little confused since the troll incident. Living as a pariah under the Dursleys' boots until he was nearly eight, and then being mothered by Tally alone at Potter Manor after that, he hadn't acquired the body image or modesty issues that most children his age had so he thought nothing of it when Tally stripped him and Neville off and put both of them in a restorative bath. The calming effect of the bath released him from the controlled state he'd maintained since he dealt with the troll and he started to react to what had happened, that may have been why he hardly noticed when Tally brought Hermione in and put her in the bath as well. Neville went red and clambered out of the bath then, saying he was done, so Tally took him out to get him dried off and check him over to ensure that nothing had happened to him.

After Tally took Neville out, Harry started shaking as the enormity of what had happened finally hit him and Hermione went to hug him, but then it hit her as well and they were holding onto each other. Harry was thinking how nice it was to be comforting each other like this, but as the shock wore off, he started realising how nice it felt to have Hermione pressed against him. He went to let her go at that but she obviously didn't want to let go, so he just laid there with his arms around her and enjoyed the feeling.

Hermione had been almost as nervous as Neville when Tally put her in the bath with the two boys, but after Tally took Neville out and Harry started shaking from the shock of the troll incident, she instinctively went to hold him. As she was holding him, it hit her too and she felt comforted when his arms went around her. As she settled down, she realised how safe and comfortable and _good_ it felt to have his arms around her like this. She knew what he was doing when he tried to let her go, but she wasn't ready to give this up just yet so she hung on, revelling in the feeling of his arms going around her again.

Tally scolded them for not getting cleaned up when she came back in to find them holding each other but her heart wasn't in it as she could feel that the young master wasn't upset any more, and that made her happy. She gave them a little more time as they washed each other's hair and backs and then got Harry out of the bath to dry him off and check him over. She sensed that these two weren't ready to be separated yet so she kept him in the room as she did so.

Hermione felt a little guilty, looking at Harry as he was standing there in the bathroom, but she sensed that it didn't bother him and he looked nice, definitely a lot more trim and fit than most of the boys she'd seen at the beach. She was horrified to see the remnants of the scars all over his back, bum, legs, even his chest and arms though, who could have done that to him?

As Tally was finishing with Harry, Hermione decided that fair was fair, if she looked at him then he deserved the chance to look at her too and climbed out of the bath. When he went to look away, she caught his eye and smiled to show him that she didn't mind. He didn't look at her the way boys on the beach did, even though she was showing him more than she did at the beach in her bikini, and she found that she liked the way that Harry looked at her in wholesome appreciation.

Since then, Hermione had gotten ever closer to Harry and Neville, they were like the three musketeers, but while she hugged Neville just as much as she did Harry, she found that she liked hugging Harry more. She could tell that it made him feel better when she held his hand when the ones like that Weasley boy called him 'Prince Potter' in the nasty way they did, possibly even more than it did Neville when she held his hand whenever they called him 'Squib'.

She just wished she had someone to talk to about this, but she wasn't going to talk to those flirty gossips who she shared her dorm room with, she didn't know any of the other girls here well enough for that and she _certainly_ wasn't going to talk to her parents about how nice it felt to hug a boy, especially as it was in the bath. She might have told her Mum, but the very thought of her telling her father terrified her. Thinking about Pavati and Lavender brought up the thought of a first kiss, as that was the sort of thing they were always talking about, but she shook her head abruptly. She wasn't ready to think about _that_ , and didn't know when she would be.

Harry had the same quandary about having someone to talk to, he sensed that Neville wouldn't be able to talk about it, let alone help him. There weren't any other boys that he felt he knew well enough to talk to about something like this and he didn't feel comfortable talking to Remus as he thought he may laugh, like he did about everything.

* * *

As they got closer to Christmas, the three musketeers were working hard, Hermione and Neville were trying to catch up with Harry in their tutoring sessions but Harry wasn't coasting, at Remus's suggestion, he concentrated on working on his animagus transformations. Remus had been astounded when he saw what Harry's animagus form was, but Harry's grandfather's reasoning had made sense to both of them. Fleamont pointed out that the only living wizard in Harry's life was Remus, and Harry looked up to him as his defacto Uncle and mentor. With a werewolf as his role model, it made sense that Harry's animagus form would be a wolf, or a dire wolf cub in this case.

The muggle education that they were doing along side of their magical education was of course more work for Neville than it was for Harry and Hermione, because he'd had to start from scratch, whereas Harry was already ahead and Hermione only had to catch up from where she started at Hogwarts. Remus was delighted with the way that Harry and Hermione walked Neville through the earlier subjects to help him catch up more quickly.

They were also making plans for the Christmas break, Neville was of course going home to his Grandmother at Longbottom Manor, but Madam Longbottom had agreed for her and Neville to come to Potter Manor for at least a few days at Christmas, indicating there may be leeway to stretch that to a week if things worked out. Harry's grandparents were looking forward to that as they had been friends with her.

As Hermione's parents had pulled away from most people they knew in the muggle world when Hermione went to Hogwarts as a witch, they were seriously talking about the possibility of the Granger family spending the entire Christmas break at Potter Manor. This would allow her parents to get to know her friends and experience the magical world, as well as allowing Hermione to practice magic while she was away from Hogwarts, which wouldn't be an option if they stayed at home due to the so-called Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery.

This decree was nothing but yet another attempt by the purebloods to force out muggleborn witches and wizards by restricting their ability to practice their magic at home. This restriction was never applied to witches and wizards born to magical households as their magic was indistinguishable from their parents, which meant that there was a Ministry department that was dedicated to the attempt to prevent muggleborn witches and wizards from developing at the same rate as those from magical families by denying them the same right to practice away from Hogwarts.

This was part of the argument that Remus and Angela used to entice Hermione's parents to come to Potter Manor and decide for themselves whether they'd like to spend the Christmas holiday there.

* * *

When they broke up for Christmas, it was the fact that the Grangers would be waiting for them at Kings Cross that convinced the others to let Harry take the Hogwarts express again. To make it more comfortable for Hedwig, she and Harry's luggage were taken straight back to Potter Manor, but Harry had to agree to Remus travelling back with them. The Patil sisters shared their compartment with Remus and the three musketeers, but Pavati was more than a little put out that Neville, _her_ housemate, was more interested in talking to her twin from Ravenclaw than her.

The scene at Kings Cross showed them that someone, probably Dumbledore, was still playing games, because Molly Weasley descended on them as soon as they exited platform 9 ¾. She dropped the loving matronly figure facade for a moment when Remus stepped in front of Harry to cut her off and was about to snap at him to get out of the way before she realised that would blow the whole act, so forcing a patently fake smile on her face she went on. "Remus dear, we haven't seen you in ages! You'll have to call us and sort out a time to come out to the Burrow, now if you don't mind I have to see this poor dear boy…."

Remus cut her off with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry Molly, but I'm employed by the Potter Estate to keep everyone away from Harry, if you have anything to say to him you can say it from there."

"Well I never! Harry James Potter, you tell this cur that that doesn't apply to me!"

She saw what Albus had been telling her about being careful when Harry responded. "Missus Weasley, as Uncle Remus has just told you, part of his job is to keep any uninvited approaches away from me. I do not know you and have not spoken to you before, therefore I most definitely haven't invited your attentions. As Uncle Remus has told you again, anything you wish to say can be said from where you are. Was there something that you wished to say to me?"

Molly's mouth was opening and closing like a fish out of water and Mr Weasley and the twins were trying to cover their mirth, as not many could strike Molly Weasley speechless. Finally she said. "I was going to have you stay at the Burrow for Christmas so you wouldn't be alone but I'm not sure that you deserve an invitation now."

"Well thank you for the intended invitation Missus Weasley but I would have had to decline anyway, I am spending Christmas at home with my friends and their families."

They heard Ron muttering in the background. "See, I told you the ponce was a stuck up git!"

Harry glanced at him and went on. "Furthermore, while I would like to consider Fred and George friends, I would not come to the home of a bully who has repeatedly made unprovoked and unfounded attacks on my friends."

He looked at Percy then. "Or another bully who attempts to curse younger boys without provocation."

Looking back at Molly he finished. "So thank you, but I do not see any possibility of my coming to the Burrow this holiday, or any others in the foreseeable future."

With that, he turned and walked to where Neville and his Grandmother were talking to Hermione and her parents. He heard. "Why you little…." behind him but ignored it, Remus would handle it, and if for any reason he couldn't they had Rackclaw and five other disillusioned goblin guards waiting to step in.

He nodded politely to Hermione's parents before he was formally introduced to Neville's Grandmother, handing her the portkey to bring them to Potter Manor when they were ready, then he heard. "Harry?" behind him.

Glancing at Remus, he caught his nod and turned to face Arthur Weasley. "Yes sir?"

"I am Arthur Weasley and I would like to apologise for my wife's behaviour here. I do not know what caused her to act like this but I cannot condone the way that she has behaved towards you or Remus. I apologised to Remus before I came over. Also, I wonder if you could explain your comments about my sons? I got the impression from what you said that it was rather more than I was told about what happened at Hogwarts?"

"I'm sure that Fred and George can tell you everything Mister Weasley, they know just about every story going around Hogwarts and I'm sure they're bright enough to know which ones are true."

Arthur nodded. "I will, thank you. Might I ask one small favour of you?"

"Yes?"

"It's my little girl, Ginny, you see like most girls her age she worships Harry Potter, do you think you could just say hello to her for me please?"

Harry rolled his eyes resignedly, but said. "Of course sir."

Arthur smiled, saying. "Thank you." before turning to call out "Ginny!"

When Molly started forward he pointed at her. "No. Just Ginny!" Her face went from shock to a baleful glare that looked as though she wanted to peel his skin off, but she stopped as the redheaded girl came forward.

When she reached them, Harry held out his hand. "Hello Ginny, how are you? I'm Harry, this is my friend Hermione and that's my friend Neville."

Ginny went bright red, squeaked and tried to shake his hand and curtsey at the same time.

Arthur looked fondly down at her. "Thank you Harry, is there any way that I might contact you over the break to discuss this?" He nodded back at his family.

Harry nodded. "Just contact Uncle Remus Mister Weasley, he can put you in contact with me."

With that, they nodded to each other and Harry was introduced to Hermione's parents, Dan and Jean Granger. Due to the unpleasantness, they just said hello quickly and headed off. Molly, Ron and Percy Weasley were staring daggers at them until they went around the corner out of sight of anyone else, where bracelets were slipped onto Hermione's parents' wrists to counter the muggle illusions and wards before they portkeyed away.

* * *

When they arrived outside the front door of Potter Manor, Dan and Jean just stood and stared and Hermione wasn't much better, because this was an imposing and magnificent manor house such as they'd only ever seen in grandiose Victorian era movies. Harry just smiled cheekily at them and said "Welcome home!"

When the goblin guards cancelled their disillusionment, Jean shrieked and Dan tried to get between them and his wife and daughter. Hermione laughed. "Dad! Stop! These are Harry's guards!"

Dan looked at her wildly, he also looked as though he was having a heart attack. This condition wasn't helped by the troop of heavily armed centaurs who cantered up to them and greeted Harry deferentially in their own language. Seeing this boy bowing back to Rohan, the head centaur, and responding in the same language was enough to convince Dan that he'd gone stark raving mad.

Harry politely introducing Rohan to the Grangers in English did little to reduce the surreal quality of what was happening and nor did the house elves popping up to grab the Grangers' bags and disappear again. In the end it was decided that the simplest way to move on was for Harry to offer his arm to Jean, while Remus offered his arm to Hermione and Angela took Dan's arm so that they could lead them into the Manor.

A tumbler of scotch was put in Dan's hand and he didn't slow down until it had been refilled twice in quick succession. After three stiff drinks he looked a trifle less wild eyed and had slowed his imbibing to sipping rather than gulping. Harry caught Remus's eye and relaxed when Remus nodded with a wry grin. It looked as though they were ready to start the tour.

They didn't take long to get settled in, but while Jean was fascinated with talking to the magical portraits and ghosts and Hermione was in seventh heaven when she found the Potter family library, Dan quickly got bored and Harry had Dommy take him back to his house so he could watch TV.

Harry hadn't anticipated that problem and was worried that it might induce the Grangers to go home, until he suddenly remembered that the Head Goblin had had a computer and television in his office. He had Rackclaw send a request to Gringotts for him to discuss this with someone and was transported there as soon as he and Remus had gotten changed.

When they arrived, he was surprised that they were taken to the Head Goblin's office again, as he thought he'd be talking to a minor official for this. He explained what he was hoping could be arranged and the official that the Head Goblin had brought in explained that it wasn't that difficult, the main requirements were to have a specially warded room and a magical power source for the devices. Getting TV signals and computer connections into the room was a little complicated but they'd already sorted all of that out and what he requested could be implemented in less than half a day.

After that, he just had to work out what devices he wanted installed. The official told him what was tested and available and Harry decided that a computer, big screen TV, VCR, LaserDisc player and stereo sound system, plus a large library of Video Cassettes, LaserDiscs, records and Compact Disks would hopefully be enough to keep Hermione's father and any other guests happy, then arrangements were made for the Potter elves to bring the goblins and equipment to Potter Manor so that they could set up the wards and everything else. When Hermione saw what had been set up in the muggle entertainment room at the Manor, she giggled and told him that he'd never be able to get her father to leave now.

What the Head Goblin had had to say about why he had those muggle devices in his office was also interesting, as apparently Gringotts owned a muggle bank that they used for investments and interfaces with the muggle world. When he heard that, Harry arranged for accounts to be set up there for him, Remus and Angela that would linked to their vaults at Gringotts to let them draw money out when they were in the muggle world. He also arranged for accounts and vaults to be set up for Hermione and her parents, as that would simplify things and save money for them when they had to pay for things in the magical world.

* * *

When Neville and his Gran arrived, they left his Gran talking to Harry's grandparents' portrait while Remus and Angela took the students to Diagon Alley to do some Christmas shopping. They picked up presents that should make just about everyone happy, but Harry was trying to find the right presents for his two best friends. He knew what he was getting Neville, it was Hermione who was the problem, at least she was until they were walking past the Magical Menagerie and she locked eyes with a half kneazel kitten in the window. Looking him in the eye, she whispered. "Crookshanks" and Harry dragged her into the store with a grin, his cage and paraphernalia were shrunk and put in a bag while Crookshanks rode on Hermione's arm.

They had a problem with getting Neville's present, because Harry couldn't be seen in Ollivanders as Ollivander would want to know where he got his wand. The magic flying about the wand shop also ruled out using a glamour charm, they'd found that out the last time he went there. Harry refused to have Mister Ollivander obliviated again and Remus refused to allow the group to be split up while they were in public like that. As neither was prepared to relax his position, they needed to find something that satisfied both of them.

After struggling with the issue for a while, Harry shared a look with Remus because they were only left with one option. With that they slipped into an alley and Harry transfigured into his animagus form. Hermione knelt down to look him in the eye, scratching him behind the ear and saying with a mischievous grin. "Who's a good boy then Lobo?" The laughter from the others said that his animagus form now had a name and there was no chance of getting rid of it, but luckily he didn't mind it at all. He licked her hand and led the way to Ollivanders.

Garrick Ollivander looked at the two wizards and two witches who came into his store with a wolf cub, remembering the wands he'd sold to three of them before focussing on Neville. "Neville Longbottom, why haven't I seen you before?"

Neville just put his father's wand on the counter. "Because I've been using this wand sir."

Ollivander picked it up and examined it. "Ah yes, your father's wand, a good wand, but not for you. Let's find the right wand for you shall we?"

Twenty minutes later, Neville walked out of Ollivanders with his wand, thirteen inches of cherry wood with a unicorn hair for its core. He was happy with the wand, he was just worried what he was going to tell his Gran about why he wasn't using his father's wand any more.

He needn't have worried, because as soon as they arrived at the Manor, his Gran said. "There you are at last! Come along Neville, I can't believe that I was being so selfish, making you use your father's wand in a silly attempt to hang onto him. I promise to make it up to you but for now we need to get to Ollivanders before he closes."

"Actually Gran, no we don't." With that, he pulled out his new wand to show her.

"What? How?"

Harry stepped in to save Neville from the backlash. "It was me Madam Longbottom. Neville's had so much trouble getting things to work in class, but I knew it wasn't him because I could feel the magic in him. I understand that he was using his father's wand but my Grandfather always told me how important it was for a wand to be matched to the wizard. That was why I decided to get him a new wand for his Christmas present. I'm sorry I went against your wishes but I wanted to do what was best for Neville and he can already do far more with his new wand."

Augusta looked sternly at him for about twenty seconds and then broke into a smile. "There's no question that you are your mother's son Harry Potter. Lily was just as impassioned in standing up for her friends and doing what was right. Thank you, your Grandfather has just been making me see the error of my ways and that was why I was going to drag Neville off to Ollivanders. So as you've handled that, what shall we do now?"

They all fussed over Crookshanks, though Hermione's parents were having trouble understanding that he was only half cat, and what a kneazel was.

* * *

They had a wonderful Christmas, the best any of them could remember. The only sour note was when Harry received the cloak from Dumbledore. Or rather the explanation that came with the cloak. When Remus read the note he went white. "That lying bastard!"

They all looked at him at that so he had to explain. "Dumbledore, this was confiscated off your father in our last year at Hogwarts, but when James went to ask for its return when we left Hogwarts Dumbledore told him that it had disappeared and no-one had any idea what had happened to it. This is a priceless potter heirloom and that bastard was keeping it for himself. But….." He looked a little confused.

Harry smiled grimly. "Leverage. He's obviously looking to use this and the allusion he's trying to make that he was close to my father to buy his way into my favour and get me to see him as someone I should trust and listen to."

Remus snorted. "Trust Dumbledore? The day Lily Potter's son is silly enough to do that is the day I become a sheepdog!"

"Oh I'd never trust him, but pretending to might be a way of getting him to tell me things that I wouldn't be able to find out otherwise. He's got something planned for me, I know it, but I can't see what it is. I'll play along until I find out what it is."

Remus grinned. "Now _that's_ Lily's boy."

* * *

They got the clue they needed about Nicholas Flamel from a chocolate frog of all things, or at least from the Dumbledore card that came with the chocolate frog as Flamel was mentioned on it as an associate of Dumbledore's. Something had been tugging at Harry's memory ever since they got the name out of Hagrid and now he remembered that he'd seen one of these cards on his first trip on the Hogwarts Express. Now that they knew what to look for, they quickly unearthed the information about Flamel and his Philosopher's Stone in the Potter Library. The Philosopher's Stone was a legendary substance with astonishing powers. The stone would transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal.

The first time they saw the Potter family library, the Grangers knew that they'd be spending most of Hermione's holidays here because they didn't need to be told that this was much more impressive than the Hogwarts library to know that Hermione could happily spend the rest of her life going through the books here.

They also got a visit from Arthur Weasley, and his eldest son Bill, a few days before they went back to Hogwarts. When Harry saw them, he blurted out. "Bill? What are you?..." He stopped and looked from one to the other then and said. "You're Bill Weasley, aren't you?"

Bill nodded with a smile, he'd been one of Harry's tutors on wards and related subjects but he'd been introduced just as Bill. Remus had of course known who he was, but it never occurred to him that it mattered. He was right as far as that went, Bill's family had been immaterial to Harry's tutoring, but when he told his father that he'd known Harry before, they'd agreed that it might help if him were here for this discussion.

Arthur started out by apologising again, he'd gotten the full story of what had happened on the Hogwarts Express and at Hogwarts out of the twins as Harry had suggested, and in fact they'd heard what Percy did from Oliver Wood himself as he was the captain of their Quidditch team. Molly had made up a story to make it sound like Ron was being unfairly punished because he was reacting to bullying from someone like the Malfoy boy and that Snape had gone after Percy when he tried to protect his brother. He ended by apologising again and saying that he was ashamed that any children of his could have behaved like that. When he said that, Remus and Augusta looked at each other, and then Remus turned to Arthur, obviously girding his loins to say something that he didn't want to, but felt he needed to.

"Arthur, in the muggle world there is something called a paternity test."

"Paternity test, what's that for?"

"In the muggle world it's normally used in determining custody and who has to pay to raise a child when they break up a marriage, but it's purpose is to prove who the father of a child is….."

"That sounds interesting Remus, but I'm not sure something like that is suitable for the ears of children, and I don't understand why you're raising…."

He suddenly stopped and looked at Remus with an expression of shock and betrayal and Remus nodded sadly. "I'm sorry to say this Arthur, but there is a good chance that the reason that Percy and Ron do not behave like a child of your's would is that they are not."

When Arthur just kept staring at Remus, Augusta spoke up. "Arthur, I realise that this is an unpleasant subject, but the idea can hardly be a shock to you, you know what Molly's reputation was like at Hogwarts….." She trailed off at Arthur's look of confusion. "They wouldn't!"

They called Angela in and with Arthur's permission she probed his mind. When she was done she announced with a grim expression that she'd found evidence of considerable memory tampering, going back for some time. That confused them at first, because there was no way that Molly Weasley could have done that, not someone who was stupid enough to talk about their plans for _him_ in a howler that any fool would have known would be heard in the Great Hall at Hogwarts.

While they were discussing it, Harry suddenly looked angry and said. "Professor McGonagall!"

Augusta was scandalised at that. "Harry! Surely you don't think Minerva would be involved in something like this?"

Neville was watching Harry closely and said. "I don't think that's what Harry's saying Gran."

Harry flashed Neville a grateful smile and answered Augusta. "No, Madam Longbottom, what I'm saying is that Professor McGonagall _also_ had her memory altered more than once, we found proof of that when we discovered that she'd had most of her memories of the day I was dumped on my Aunt's doorstep wiped out. Which points to someone who is capable of doing this to both of them."

Remus bit out. "Albus Bloody Dumbledore!" Harry nodded grimly.

These new revelations meant that a lot more needed to be explained. Arthur Weasley was an unknown but Harry was prepared to accept and go along with Remus and Bill's trust in him. The others were shocked and horrified by what they heard, none more so than the Grangers, but when they were having trouble believing that it could have been as bad as that, Hermione said. "Show them your back Harry."

Their horror at seeing the remnants of his scars turned into tears when Remus described how much worse they'd been three and a half years ago when he first saw them. By the time they left, Arthur was in full agreement with everyone else that Albus Dumbledore was not the great man he was portrayed as, he was in fact as ruthless, devious and unscrupulous as anyone out there.

Arthur was also in agreement that his wife was obviously working for Dumbledore behind his back and that he needed to determine who had fathered the children that he thought were his. He only wanted to disown two of those children, but the question about the others would eat away at him if he didn't know. Bill made it clear to him that he understood and wasn't offended by this at all, in fact he volunteered to be the one that they tested this with.

* * *

All too soon it was time to go back to Hogwarts. There was one thing that Harry and Hermione were eagerly looking forward to though, seeing all those who'd ridiculed Neville eat their words now that he had the wand he needed to do magic properly.

They shared their compartment with a different pair of girls on the Hogwarts Express this time. Augusta, Arthur and Remus had told stories of the other families who had been ripped apart by the same Death Eaters who'd killed Harry's parents and destroyed Neville's, and one of the worst stories had been about how the Bones family was almost wiped out. With that in mind, when they saw Susan Bones by herself on Platform 9 ¾ as she watched all the happy families sending their children off to Hogwarts again, Hermione went over to ask her if she'd like to share their compartment on the Hogwarts Express. When Susan thanked her, but said that she was waiting for her friend Hannah Abbott, Hermione said that there was room for her as well.

They were glad of that soon after the train started off when Ron Weasley turned up, obviously under orders from his mother to get close to Harry Potter. He tried to squeeze in, saying that there wasn't room anywhere else. Of course Hermione shut down that argument. "That simply isn't possible Ronald Weasley! The Hogwarts express will always have room for everyone going to Hogwarts."

His last ditch effort of. "Well there's no room in any of the Gryffindor compartments! Hoof it you two. This is a Gryffindor compartment, go and sit with the other Puffs!" Had Harry and Neville on their feet in a flash and between him and the girls. He took a step back when Harry growled. "Susan and Hannah are here as our friends and they aren't going anywhere so go and squeeze into one of your Gryffindor compartments, you aren't coming in here!"

One of the prefects came along just then and asked what was going on so Harry said that Ron was having trouble finding anywhere to sit. The prefect's response was. "What are you talking about? There's plenty of room on the train, come on you stupid boy, we'll find you a spot." When Ron didn't move, still trying to work out how to get into the compartment to avoid another howler from his mother, he snapped. "Well come along! I don't have all day!" and he was forced to follow him.

Susan and Hannah looked at the others laughing after he'd left and asked what was going on? Harry first pointed out that he meant what he said, they'd like to think of Susan and Hannah as their friends, and then told them what happened last time he shared a compartment with Ron, ending with. "I never want to see that sight again, and trust me, neither do you!" That had Susan and Hannah laughing as well and the rest of the trip to Hogwarts was a happy one.

* * *

Dumbledore was not a happy wizard when he found a few days later that a Hufflepuff and a Ravenclaw had also transferred out of the Potions, History of Magic and Defence Against the Dark Arts classes and joined Potter's private tutor sessions. What's more, one of those girls was Amelia Bones' niece, so he couldn't afford to say anything or he'd have that harpy come down on him and he certainly didn't want _her_ looking into what was going on.

Susan and Padma quickly saw how much more they could learn in the sessions with the others and dug in to try and catch up. Padma switching to the private sessions had initially caused friction between her and Pavati, but Pavati had been offered the chance as well. It was the description of how much work was involved and being told that her friend Lavender Brown couldn't come that made her turn it down. Hannah had turned down the offer for similar reasons. Padma's parents had been a hard sell, but after Augusta Longbottom had talked to them about how much Neville was getting from this they'd given their consent.

Of course, the likes of Malfoy and Ron Weasley kept going on about 'Potter's Harem' and taking great delight in including Neville in that, but Neville was gaining more and more self confidence and shrugged off those gibes as meaningless. After a while, everyone gave up trying to get a rise out of them. They went everywhere together so there wouldn't be any opportunities to attack Susan or Padma without Harry and Neville there to protect them and they usually sat together at the Gryffindor table because few Gryffindors were against Harry or his group.

When the Easter break came, Susan joined the others at Potter Manor and Madam Bones joined them for a day as well at Augusta Longbottom's invitation. Padma had to spend the break with her family, but she managed to come over a few times.

* * *

When they went to study for their end of year exams in the Hogwarts library one time, they were shocked to see Hagrid back in the book stacks, as from what they'd heard, he hadn't been very studious when he was a student. This was something too interesting to pass up, so they quietly went over to see what he was up to. When Harry popped up to say. "Hi Hagrid, what are you doing?" Hagrid jumped and tried to hide the book he was looking at behind his back as he stammered about just looking something up, but Hermione had come up behind him and she grabbed the book off of him, hissing. "Hagrid! What are you doing with a book on raising dragons? Don't you know how much trouble you can get into it you tried to raise a dragon?"

He snatched the book back off of her and stiffly said. "I'm just doing reading to help out with the magical creatures course I am! This is no business of your'n."

She looked him in the eye and said "Hagrid?" in a stern tone and it would have been hilarious to watch him being intimidated by someone a fraction of his size if not for how serious this could become. Hagrid buckled and said. "Alright, but not here, come to the cottage after." before hurrying off with the book.

It was agreed that it would be too obvious if the whole group went, so Harry, Hermione and Neville knocked on the door of Hagrid's cottage a while later. The way that he peeked out to see who was there and then all but wrenched them into the cottage confirmed that there was something going on.

The cottage was stifling hot but Hermione started in on him straight away. "What are you doing looking into raising dragons Hagrid, don't you know that it's illegal and you could get in a lot of trouble? You need to forget about this right..."

She was cut off by Harry's exclamation of. "Oh Merlin!"

At that, Hermione and Neville turned to look at what Harry was staring at. With her different background, none of them thought anything of Hermione crying. "Shit!" instead of "Merlin!", as the intent was the same, and there was no question of what caused the exclamations as that thing in the fire couldn't be anything but a dragon's egg. She looked Hagrid in the eye as she pointed at the egg. "Where did you get that?"

Hagrid was too excited about having a dragon's egg to worry about talk of trouble, and he just started babbling. "I won it at the pub last night I did! I went down to the Three Broomsticks for a drink and a stranger there, he talked me into a friendly game of cards. We ended up playin' and a talkin' for ages but his luck were just awful it was and he kept losin'. I tried to call off the game but he kept insisting on another chance to win his gold back. When he lost his stake he put up the dragon's egg to cover the pot and what I had and lost that too. I tried to give it back to him but he said I won it fair and square he did. He disappeared soon after that, I guess he were upset about wot he lost but I tried to give it back I did!"

Hermione was looking worried as this was obviously a setup, but she couldn't work out what they got out of it. "Shush Hagrid, did you recognise the man you were playing?"

"Well he wouldn't be a stranger if I recognised him now, would he? 'Sides, he always had his hood up so I never saw his face."

Hermione and Harry looked at each other as a sense of foreboding came over them, it was common knowledge that Hagrid would love to have a dragon because he told anyone who would listen. Now some hooded stranger suddenly turns up out of nowhere and uses a dragon's egg to hook Hagrid into keeping going with a _friendly_ game where he's already lost all his gold? That made no sense unless...

"Are they using anything but Fluffy to protect the Philosopher's Stone Hagrid?"

Hagrid stared at her. "Who told you about….. Now you just forget about that, it's a secret and it's dangerous it is. You'll get yourselves hurt if you interfere in that business you will!"

"Never mind how we know, if someone gets past Fluffy, can they get to the Stone?"

He looked at her for about a minute before he answered. "No, Professor Dumbledore and the rest of the professors worked together to protect it."

Hermione relaxed at that but Harry had another question. "Even Professor Snape? Would he know how to get past the other protections?"

"Now we talked about this we did Harry, Professor Snape is a Hogwarts professor and he wouldn't do nothin' to try to steal the Stone, I told you that I did."

"Answer the question Hagrid, would Professor Snape know how to get past the protections and get to the Stone?" Neville and Hermione shuddered a little to hear the command in his voice when he demanded an answer, Dumbledore hadn't been able to stand up to that and there was no way Hagrid could.

"Well if he knew what the other Professors did for their parts, I expect he could."

Harry shook his head, their only hope now would be if the other professors kept their secrets and frankly that prospect didn't leave him with much hope.

To divert Harry from where she saw this was taking him, Hermione asked Hagrid what his plans were for the egg.

"Why I'm going to hatch it of course! That's why it's in the fire it is, the book there says that their mummies breath fire on the eggs to help them hatch. It also had pictures of the different dragons' eggs and that's how I know that this one's a Norwegian Ridgeback, they're rare, they are!"

"Oh Hagrid, don't you know how much trouble you can get in? It's illegal to raise dragons in this country you know!"

"But I can't just let him die can I? We can work out everythin' else after he's hatched."

She went to jump in again but Harry squeezed her hand and she stopped. She closed her eyes and counted to ten before she opened her mouth again. "Alright, but be careful! You can't let anyone know that it's here. Don't say anything to anyone! We'll help you work out what to do with him once he's hatched."

Hagrid nodded, happy that she was letting him keep his dragon. "Yes Hermione, I'll be careful I will."

Hermione gave Harry a hopeless look and he hugged her, looking at Neville. Neville shook his head because he could see nothing but trouble in this. With that they told Hagrid to be careful again and went back to the castle. Harry told Remus what was going on and Remus arranged for some guards to keep people away from Hagrid's cottage. Hagrid was a simple soul but he had a heart of gold and it was hard not to love him and want to look after him.

A week later, Harry got an owl from Hagrid telling them to come to the cottage. They'd left Susan and Padma out of the loop to ensure Susan wasn't in the position where she was duty bound to tell her aunt that she knew Hagrid was doing something illegal. Neville had pulled out of it for a similar reason, to keep his Gran from being associated with anything illegal, he'd seen an egg which may or may not hatch, but that wasn't anything illegal in and of itself, staying away from it since then meant that she couldn't be accused of anything.

That was why it was just Harry and Hermione under his cloak of invisibility who were knocking on the door of Hagrid's cottage about fifteen minutes later. Inside the cottage, the egg was on the table and it had several cracks across it, it was also moving. Hagrid was excited. "He's just about to hatch, he is!"

Over the next ten minutes or so, the movements and cracks got bigger until the dragon's head broke though and then he burst out of the egg and flopped onto the table. Hagrid was pleased as punch and reached out to stroke its head with a massive fingertip, chuckling as the dragon nipped at his finger. "See, he knows his Mummy he does!"

Harry shook his head, Hagrid was a hopeless case when it came to creatures, they left him there with his new baby after Hermione reminded him again that he couldn't let anyone see or hear anything to do with the dragon and went back to Gryffindor tower. Remus was interested but worried when they told him that the dragon had hatched, because they were now directly involved in something illegal and they had to work out what to do with it.

Harry suddenly jumped up and turned to Remus. "Didn't you tell me that the Weasley's second son, Charlie, is working with dragons in Romania?"

"Yes, but what has that got to do with our problem?"

"We can send the dragon to him so he can release it into the dragon colony there."

Remus nodded. "That might work, we can ask Bill to talk to him about it, if Charlie agrees we can get the dragon to Gringotts and the goblins can transport it to the continent at least, even if they can't get it to Romania."

They agreed to do that and Remus sent a message off to Bill Weasley. They got a response two days later to say that Charlie had agreed and they started on the plans to transport the dragon to Romania. In the week it took to get all of this organised, Norbert, as Hagrid had called him, had more than doubled in size from when he was hatched, so they now had a four foot long dragon to transport.

With Charlie's assistance, they had brewed a potion to keep him quiet on the trip and they'd built a carrier to keep him safe, and keep anyone near safe from the flames that he could now create as well. After they'd dosed him with the potion, Hagrid put him in his carrier, getting more of his beard singed off as he did so, and two Potter elves transported the carrier to Gringotts. There the goblins took over and got the dragon to Romania in three hops. A day later, Bill passed on word from Charlie that Norbert had arrived and that he'd be hand rearing him until he was big enough to release into the other dragons. They let Hagrid know and though he had tears in his eyes he was happy that Norbert was safely away.

 **A/N: Yes, I'm expecting outrage from some corners over one part of this, but they're innocent children who were hugging, nothing more.**

 **NB: I was going to refer to Downton Abbey for what Potter Manor looked like, as that was the image I had in mind, but it didn't come out until 2010, Doh! ;^)**


	4. Round Two

**I've been getting oodles of those fake 'Delivery Confirmation' emails that almost certainly contain ransomware (DON'T open those kids), but I got one yesterday that appealed to my warped sense of humour, because the harvested email address they used for it was from hillcrest cemetery. I think I'll give deliveries from a cemetery a miss thanks ;^)**

 **Usual disclaimers, no rights to any characters portrayed and this is neither the real world nor a Disney Princess story.**

Albus decided that he couldn't allow the Potter child to create any more delays or obstacles. When he'd used the Philosopher's Stone as bait to draw Tom back to Hogwarts, he'd done so with the expectation that it would be a simple matter to set up the necessary encounter between him and the child of the prophecy by setting him in place as the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor.

However the Potter child had turned up as _Lord_ Potter, somehow knowing all his rights and strong enough to navigate Hogwarts on his own terms instead of the feeble, malleable child that he was supposed to be. Worse than that, he turned up with that werewolf as his champion as well as his other guards and personal tutors who kept getting in the way and prevented him from being fiddled with to make him do what was required of him. Well, prevented his memories being fiddled with, while he was certainly a pretty child with beautiful eyes, Albus still preferred someone more mature to play with, though in truth Severus's appeal was undoubtedly waning now.

Without being able to use memory charms on the boy and with him not being under Tom and Severus's control in class, the influence that could be applied to him was far more limited than it was supposed to have been, even McGonagall had stood between him and the child, how that happened Albus had no idea. He'd believed that giving the child that marvellous cloak of invisibility which had once been his father's would have been enough to gain the access he needed to set him back on track again, but while he appeared more prepared to comply than he'd been when he arrived, he always had a guard with him, and usually that damned werewolf as well, so there had been no possibilities to get direct control of him. For that matter, he'd also shown an amazing ability to block subtle probing for a child of his age.

No, the child had been given as many chances as they could afford to give him, the school year was getting closer to the end and Tom would have to make a move on the Philosopher's Stone while it was here. Or rather make another move, he might have had it back at the start of the year if the oaf's pet hadn't scared him off. Albus chuckled to himself as he thought of what had happened then, poor Severus, he'd charged in there to stop Tom, only to have Hagrid's pet take a piece out of him, at least that provided the opportunity to give him some tender loving care and nurse him back to health, seeing as he couldn't go to Madam Pomfrey with his injury.

Anyway, if the wilful boy refused to go along with the scenarios that had been created to allow him to be remembered as a hero of the light who'd nobly sacrificed himself, then he'd just have to be killed off as another foolish boy to make Tom whole again so that he could be vanquished. Albus was confident that he'd deciphered the prophecy properly now. Tom had somehow split himself when that killing curse had rebounded onto him, leaving part of him within the child and the other part on a different plane, which therefore meant that the child must die in order for Tom to combine again in one body so that he would be mortal again.

Enough had died in this war that one more child's death to allow Tom to be vanquished and the light to be victorious over the dark was of no great consequence, and truth be told after this child had thwarted his plans so often that Albus could not in all honesty say that the idea bothered him that greatly any longer.

Albus was certain that it was Quirrell _,_ Tom's current host, who was killing unicorns in the Forbidden Forest and drinking their blood to maintain its existence, so what was required now was to put the child in its way and that should set them on the necessary path to make Tom whole again. He was confident that Tom would know better than to try to curse him again after what happened last time, and it shouldn't be that difficult for him to snuff out the life of a child.

Luckily, that oaf Hagrid had provided him with the means to set this up, as he'd been stupid enough to come to him to ask if he could find out what was happening with his dragon hatchling that had been sent off to Romania. While the child may have been able to resist probing, the oaf certainly couldn't, so Albus had seen how the child and his little muggleborn friend had hidden the fact that Hagrid was hatching the dragon egg, and then had used his influence with the goblins to illegally transport the hatchling out of the country.

It was a simple matter to alter the oaf's memories so that the way he now recalled it was that Harry and Hermione had made him help them hatch the dragon egg and then illegally smuggled it out of the country. Adding a compulsion to confess what had been done to the Headmaster was even simpler. With the oaf's confession and statement of who else was involved, Albus was in the position where he could magnanimously agree to keep it as an internal matter and let the two students concerned off with no more than deducting fifty points from Gryffindor for each of them and a week's detention for both of them.

* * *

When Harry and Hermione arrived for their detention with Remus, Filch tried to argue that Remus wasn't allowed to accompany them, but like most bullies he backed down when faced with someone who wouldn't be cowed. As they headed out of the castle, Remus demanded to know what was going on. It didn't take too long to make Filch buckle and admit that the detention was to be spending the night patrolling the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid. Remus swore at that and called for Dommy, telling him to bring Angela, Rackclaw and the rest of the goblin guards and make sure that they were well armed because they were going into the forbidden forest.

Hagrid was obviously still under some form of compulsion as he kept demanding that they leave immediately, but holding his wand on him and telling him that he'd do whatever it took to keep him here until the rest of the team arrived made him stay put. When they got there, four of the goblins had crossbows like Hagrid was carrying, if smaller, and a good supply of bolts for them, each carrying two quivers of bolts.

As they headed into the forest, Harry, Hermione, Remus and Angela could tell that Hagrid was trying to fight the compulsion because he was trying to tell them about what the danger they faced was. Just inside the forest, they found evidence that a unicorn had been attacked, and Hagrid was shocked when Harry had recognised the signs before being told. Harry shared a look with Hermione and she remembered the beautiful creatures in the forest on the Potter estates, that helped her firm her resolve and when he saw that she was determined to go on he gave her a hug before they followed the trail of silvery blood.

The situation got worse further in, as it looked as though they were attacked again when the wounded unicorn rejoined the blessing, so they had scattered. This meant that the group needed to split up to follow the wounded ones. At first Remus refused to leave Harry, but Harry quietly insisted that he could look after himself better in his animagus form than Hermione could so Remus gave in, he and Krogar went with Hermione while Angela and Rackclaw went with Harry, one of the goblins went with Hagrid and the last three followed the fourth blood trail.

Harry's group had been following the trail for a while when they heard something approaching, it might have been a unicorn but the fact that it was approaching rather than retreating made that unlikely. This was confirmed when a centaur stepped out of the trees, arrow nocked and bow drawn as it challenged them. It was so surprised when Harry answered in the language of the centaurs that it almost loosed its arrow accidently.

After the centaur recovered from the shock, they quickly discussed the fact that there were now a number of unicorns injured in the forest and the centaur went to tell his people that they were looking for more than one unicorn while Harry and the others went on. Angela questioned the to the point discussion he'd just had with the centaur as they went and Harry distractedly answered that while they liked to philosophise in human languages, they were often in warrior mode when they were speaking their own language, so they didn't waste time. Angela snorted. "You're no ordinary boy, are you Harry?" He flashed her a quick grin.

They'd been going for another half an hour when the trail started to peter out and the patches of unicorn blood were bigger and closer together, so it looked as if the unicorn was failing. A little further on they came to a small clearing and found the unicorn laying on the ground with a cloaked figure crouched over it. When it looked up, they saw that it had been drinking the unicorn's blood from the wound that had downed it. The silvery blood dripped from its mouth but Harry noticed little of that because when it met his eye a searing pain shot through his head from the scar on his forehead and he cried out as he dropped to his knees.

He vaguely saw whatever it was floating towards him and heard Angela crying out. "Reducto!" as she shot blasting hexes at it. He also heard the thump of Rackclaw's crossbow releasing before he passed out. When he came to a little while later, there was a centaur standing over him and he addressed Harry in their language, asking if he was Harry Potter?

When Harry confirmed who he was in the same language, the centaur said that it was not safe to stay here and asked whether he could walk? Harry tried to stand, but would have collapsed if Angela and Rackclaw hadn't grabbed him. The centaur hesitated, then told Angela and Rackclaw to hoist Harry onto his back in English. Harry's widened and he insisted that he could walk, he just needed a few minutes and he'd be alright. The centaur shook his head. " _No, we do not know whether that creature may return and your friends were not enough to drive it off. You are a friend of the people Harry Potter and great things have been foretold for you. The shame of being ridden is less than the shame of leaving you to your fate. With your news we found and healed the other unicorns and your other friends are on their way out of the forest so it is only you who are at risk now. Let me help Harry Potter out of danger._ "

When Harry stopped arguing, the centaur told Angela and Rackclaw to put him on his back again.

Angela and Rackclaw had to half jog to keep up with the centaur, but they weren't complaining and they didn't want to be left behind. As they went, the centaur began speaking in their language.

" _Harry Potter, do you know what unicorn blood is used for?_ "

" _No._ " said Harry, startled by the question. " _We've only used the horn and tail hair in Potions._ "

" _That is because it is a monstrous thing, to slay a unicorn. Only one who has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime. The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something_ _which is_ _pure and defen_ _c_ _eless to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips_."

" _But who_ _coul_ _d be that desperate?_ " Harry wondered aloud. " _If you're going to be cursed forever, death_ _would be_ _better,_ _would_ _n't it?_ "

" _Yes,_ _unless all you need is to stay alive long enough to drink something else - something that will bring you back to full strength and power, something that will mean you can never die._ _Harry_ _Potter, do you know what is hidden in_ _your_ _school at this very moment?_ "

" _The_ _Philosopher's Stone! Of course, the Elixir of Life! But I don't understand who…._ "

" _Can'_ _t_ _you think of_ _anyone_ _who has waited many years to return to power, who has clung_ _on_ _to life, waiting_ _for_ _their chance?_ "

Harry was silent as he thought about what the Head Goblin had told him the first time they met: "Some said that he died the night he gave you that scar. There is no evidence to support that and in fact many believe that he cannot die."

"Do you mean," Harry gasped, "that was Vol-"

Just then they came out of the forest and Hermione and the others were running towards them. Harry hastily clambered off the centaur's back, having to grab on to him to avoid collapsing as he thanked him in his language for carrying him.

When Hermione reached him she almost knocked him off his feet as she threw her arms around him. Remus could see how unsteady he was and stepped up to support him.

The centaur surprised them when he bowed to Hermione and said that it was an honour to meet her, then he wished Harry luck before turning to canter back into the forest.

Remus and Hagrid looked after him musingly as he disappeared, because they knew as well as Harry did how shameful it was considered for a centaur to be ridden by anyone.

They knew that Harry wasn't telling everything when he described what they found drinking the unicorn's blood but Hermione, Remus and their people understood it was something to be discussed inside away from ears that were likely to take what they heard straight to Dumbledore. When it was obvious that Harry could still hardly walk, Remus called for Dommy and had him taken back to the tower.

* * *

By the time the rest of them had returned, Tally had him in a restorative bath. Remus conjured chairs for Hermione and himself and they sat down to hear the full story from him, broken only by Remus going to tell Dumbledore that Harry was too drained from his ordeal to be disturbed. When Dumbledore insisted on seeing Harry at once Rackclaw appeared behind Remus with a cocked and loaded crossbow and Remus repeated that Harry couldn't be disturbed. Dumbledore drew himself up and told him to tell Harry that he expected to see him first thing in the morning and remind him that he still had to serve the rest of his week of detention but Remus looked him in the eye as he spoke.

"No. Harry could well have been killed out there tonight on an activity that no student should have been involved in, and I believe that you knew full well about the dangers they would be facing but you sent him and Miss Granger out there with no warnings. So Lord Potter will not be reporting to you in the morning and neither he nor Miss Granger will be serving any more detentions. Furthermore the Potter Estate will be taking our concerns up with the Hogwarts Board, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and perhaps the Daily Prophet as well, maybe it's time people heard the truth about how their children are being looked after at Hogwarts."

Dumbledore tried to bluff his way out of it. "I would not recommend that if I were you, do not forget the serious nature of the charges that were the reason for them getting that detention in the first place. If we have to go back to them, being expelled from Hogwarts could well be the least of their worries."

"If necessary we will be taking up those fabricated charges and the fact that we have proof that Rubius Hagrid had his memories relating to the events behind the charges altered with the same people. I'd say that altering someone's memories to create false charges against children is a far more serious crime than what the children were falsely accused of. In fact I'd go as far to say that I believe the Department of Magical Law Enforcement would be very thoroughly investigating the people who were behind it and what their motivation was. Good night Professor Dumbledore."

With that, Remus went back inside and the entry was sealed. Dumbledore stood there for some time, wondering just what he'd gotten himself into.

* * *

The testers from the Wizarding Examination Authority came in to give the five students attending Harry's private tutor sessions their end of year examinations. The testing was done on what Remus and Angela indicated the students had covered, so when their results came back for Potions, History of Magic and Defence Against the Dark Arts, they all had 'O's for their _Second_ year exams in all three subjects. For that matter Harry and Hermione had completed most of the Third year work and the others had completed some as well.

Their Hogwarts professors for Transfiguration, Charms, Astronomy, Herbology had also seen how far they were ahead of the rest of the students and had been giving them special projects throughout the school year, as a result, these five students were given different examinations from the rest of their year, once again, Harry and Hermione received Second year 'O's for all subjects, while Neville, Padma and Susan received a mix of 'O's and some 'E's. They'd all completed at least part of the third year work in these subjects as well.

On the basis of their results, and given the fact that they had now passed all their Second year classes, their Professors added the five of them into the Third year classes for the next year. They also agreed on those Second year students who would be better served repeating Second year due to their poor results in preparation for the expected argument that moving the five up would overload the Third year classes.

The professors were quite aware that the Headmaster would be trying to argue against the advancement of the students on the basis of the fabricated charges that had been used to force Harry and Hermione into that incredibly dangerous detention in the forbidden forest. With all of them except for Professor Snape standing with Minerva as the Deputy Headmistress and an offer from the Wizarding Examination Authority to re-examine the five on all four subjects to independently ratify their Second year results however, they could see no way for the Headmaster to force the issue.

The heads of house for Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff also had their responses ready if an argument was made that this would interfere with the dormitory room arrangements, as their house ghosts had informed them that Lord Potter's private quarters would be separated from the Gryffindor Tower and expanded to include separate rooms for the four other students and extra staff, as well as their specific classrooms for the next school year. Minerva allowed herself a rather vindictive smile in the privacy of her office as she thought of what Dumbledore and Snape's reactions would be when they heard that Hogwarts was creating Potter Tower for Lord Potter next year.

She had discussed the matter with Filius and Pomona and they were all looking forward to pointing out that the students were still part of their houses, it was just their accommodation and specific classrooms which were being moved.

While the professors were waiting for the final exam results to be compiled so they could announce what they intended to do and looking forward to sticking it to the Headmaster that they had ever decreasing respect for or confidence in, Harry was having other problems. He'd been getting bouts of piercing pain around that scar on his forehead with increasing regularity since that night in the forest, and he was having bad nightmares most nights.

Hermione had been woken by Tally several times to take her to him so she could hold him when he was having the worst nightmares because Tally insisted that that was the only thing that could make him feel better. Hermione had to admit that Harry usually settled down as soon as she put her arms around him, and she also had to admit that she liked doing that.

* * *

When the exams were finished, they had some free time so they were down at the lake, but Harry was worrying about what was just on the edge of his memory, muttering as he tried to piece it together.

"Snape wants the stone for Voldemort... and Voldemort's waiting in the forest... we thought Snape wanted to get rich.…"

"So all I've got to wait for now is Snape to steal the Stone," Harry went on feverishly. "then Voldemort will be able to come and finish me off... Well, I suppose Dumbledore will be happy then."

"I wish I knew what this all means!" he burst out angrily. "My scar keeps burning, it's done it before, but never as often as this."

"Why don't you go to Madam Pomfrey about it?" Hermione suggested.

"There's nothing Madam Pomfrey can do," Harry said as he shook his head. "I think it's a warning... it means something's coming..."

Neville tried to reassure him. "Harry, relax, Hermione's right, the Stone's safe as long as Dumbledore's around. Anyway, we've never had any proof Snape found out how to get past Fluffy. He got bitten once, he's not going to try that again in a hurry. And Hagrid will never Dumbledore down."

Harry watched an owl flutter toward the school with a note in its beak.

"Hagrid was the only one who ever sent him letters. Hagrid would never betray Dumbledore. Hagrid would never tell anyone how to get past Fluffy... never... but…."

Harry suddenly jumped to his feet and took off, Hermione and Neville followed him.

"Where are you going?"

"Something just came to me. We've got to go and see Hagrid, now."

"Why?" panted Hermione, hurrying to keep up.

"Don't you think it's a bit odd," said Harry as they scrambled up the slope towards Hagrid's cottage, "That everyone knows that what Hagrid wants more than anything else is a dragon, and a stranger turns up who just happens to have a dragon's egg with him? How many people would carry dragon eggs around when it's against the law? Rather lucky they found someone who wanted one and wouldn't report them, don't you think? Oh why didn't I see this before?"

Hagrid was sitting outside his cottage.

"Hullo you three," he said, smiling. "Finished yer exams then?"

"Sorry, but we're in a hurry Hagrid, I've got to ask you something. You know that night you won Norbert? What did you talk about with the man you won the egg off? Did you mention Hogwarts at all?"

"It mighta come up," said Hagrid, frowning as he tried to remember. "Yeah... he asked what I did, an' I told him I was gamekeeper here.… He asked a bit about the sorta creatures I took after... so I told 'im. I said what I'd always really wanted was a dragon... an' then... I can't remember too well, 'cause he kept buyin' drinks.… Let's see... yeah, when he brought out the dragon egg... he said he had to be sure I could handle it, he had to be careful you see.. So I told him, after Fluffy, a dragon would be easy…"

"And did he. Did he seem interested in Fluffy?" Harry asked, trying to keep his voice calm.

"Well yeah, how many three-headed dogs do ya meet, even around a place like Hogwarts? So I told him, Fluffy's a piece o' cake if ya know how to calm him down, jus' play him a bit o' music an' he'll go straight off ter sleep…"

Hagrid suddenly looked horrified. "I shouldn'ta told ya that!" he blurted out. "Forget I said that! 'ere. Where're you lot goin'?"

Harry was trying to talk as they ran to the castle. "We've got to tell someone. Hagrid told that stranger how to get past Fluffy, and it had to be either Snape or Voldemort under that cloak. It probably wasn't hard once he got Hagrid drunk. I just hope they believe us."

When they ran inside, a voice suddenly called the hall. "What are you three doing inside?"

It was Professor McGonagall.

Harry made a decision that they could trust her if they could trust anyone. "Professor, I think we need to talk to Professor Dumbledore, it's about the Philosopher's stone…"

That shocked her and she dropped the books she was carrying.

"How do you know….?" she spluttered.

"Professor, I think, I know, that Sn…. that someone's going to try and steal the Stone. We need to stop them."

She eyed him with a mixture of shock and suspicion.

"Professor Dumbledore received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and flew off for London at once. He won't be back until tomorrow." She looked at them. "I don't know how you found out about the Stone, but rest assured, no one can possibly steal it, it's too well protected."

"But Professor…"

"Mister Potter, I know what I'm talking about," She bent down and gathered up the fallen books. "Now I suggest you all go back outside and enjoy the sunshine."

Harry shook his head. "Snape's going through the trapdoor tonight. He's found out everything he needs, and now he's got Dumbledore out of the way. He must have sent that note, I'm betting that the Ministry will be surprised when Dumbledore turns up."

Just then they saw Snape looking at them and went back outside.

Harry was pacing back and forth. "We can't rely on anyone but ourselves, we need to speak to Remus." He called for Dommy and told him to take them to his quarters, signalling Angela where they were going.

By the time she and the goblin guard arrived, Harry had gone through most of the story. Remus thought that they may be biting off more than they could chew, but suggested that a good starting point would be to have the elves keep an eye on Fluffy. Everyone agreed with that, so Dommy went off to check on him.

As Dommy popped off to where Fluffy was, it occurred to Harry to wonder why the elves couldn't just go straight to where the Stone was, but when Dommy tried that he couldn't find it, in fact he couldn't get past the trapdoor, so they must have set the wards to block elven magic as well. Rackclaw had his most accomplished goblin magic user try but he didn't have any luck either.

* * *

A few hours after dinner, Dommy returned from checking on Fluffy, excited because Fluffy was asleep and the trapdoor was open. They all popped up there and quickly went to the trapdoor, looking down they could see some sort of plants but Neville couldn't identify them from that far away and the only way to get down seemed to be to jump, so they did. As soon as they landed they felt the plants climbing their legs and Neville called out "Lumos." to see what they'd landed in. "It's Devil's Snare, witch fire, we need witch fire!"

Remus and Angela conjured the witch fire and the plants receded, as soon as they were clear they headed down the passage to the next challenge. As they entered the next chamber, they heard a buzzing noise above them and when they looked up they saw what looked like hundreds if not thousands of strange looking hornets. That thought was rather worrying until one swooped by near enough for them to realise that they were actually keys with wings. That made it fairly obvious what the challenge here would be, but just to be sure they tried "Alohomora." on the door, no-one was surprised when it didn't work.

They looked for the key that would fit the door, and eventually they saw one that looked about right flying about erratically because one of its wings was damaged. Remus held out the broom that had been sitting there to Harry saying. "No-one else can fly like you cub." Harry gave a wry grin, grabbed the broom and took off. The key led him on a merry chase but its damaged wing made it easier to catch than it might have been otherwise. By the time they got through the door, Harry was over this because he'd started thinking about what other challenges may be ahead and he wasn't looking forward to what they might find, he just wanted to get that bloody stone and get out of here!

He swore when he stepped into the next chamber, because there was a massive wizard chess set laid out in front of them and sure enough, when one of the goblin guards went to walk across it he was almost beheaded by one of the pawns. He hated bloody chess, every time he went through the bloody Gryffindor common room Ronald bloody Weasley was either gloating over beating someone or whining because no-one would play him. He was _not_ going to play bloody chess!

Everyone except for Hermione stepped away from him because he was radiating more and more magic as he got angrier, and when he grabbed his wand they were certain that he'd just start blasting all of the pieces apart. That was why they were so surprised when the first piece he threw a spell at just puffed up and floated away. Whenever a piece moved towards them it was transfigured into a balloon that floated away. Hermione giggled and squeezed his hand.

In the next chamber the creature that jumped at them was blasted apart in mid air as Remus and Angela called out. "Reducto!" together.

The next chamber looked innocuous when they looked through the doorway, just a table off to the side with a notice behind it and a number of vials sitting on it. Of course, as soon as they were inside, flames shot up to cover both entrances. Walking over to the table and reading the notice, Harry had to smile because Hermione was excited about the logic puzzle. The flip side of it was that this was Snape's contribution as Potions master, so Harry didn't think it could be trusted, but then what choice did they have?

Hermione went through the logic puzzle, examined the vials and then checked the puzzle again before nodding. Harry had complete trust in her, so just asked which vial allowed you to go forward and reached for the one she pointed at. Before he could reach it though, Remus snatched it away and poured the contents down his throat. As he set the vial down on the table he said with a wry smile. "You didn't think that I was going to stand by and let James and Lily's son face Snape did you?" With that he walked through the flames into the next and presumably final chamber.

A few minutes later they heard him scream, and when Harry grabbed the vial to see if there was anything left, he saw it was about two thirds full and slowly filling. Harry had to force himself to wait until it was full, but as soon as it was he downed it and strode through the flames to confront Snape, but it wasn't Snape that he found there.

As he strode into the chamber, he heard Professor Quirrell saying "Crucio!" again and Remus arched his back in agony. Harry called out. "What about me?" followed by. "Expelliarmus" as soon as Quirrell swung his wand towards him and then. "Accio wand!" to keep Quirrell wandless.

Quirrell smirked at him. "Oh that _was_ impressive Potter."

Suddenly he waved his hand and shouted. "Incarcerous!" and Harry couldn't move as ropes quickly wrapped themselves around him.

He struggled with his bonds for a little bit before he gave up and tried to talk his way out of this.

"Why you? I was expecting to see Snape."

Quirrell smirked again. "Yes, Severus was quite useful actually, he's such an obvious villain that no-one even thought to look at P P Poor P P Pathetic P P Professor Q Q Quirrell. I wouldn't have had an issue with Severus if he hadn't interfered with my plans for you so often."

"But I thought he hated me?"

"Oh, he hates you alright, you look just like your father except for you mother's eyes, so every time he sees you he sees the man he loathed more than any other, and at the same time he's reminded of the fact that your mother died to save you."

Quirrell sniggered at that, then muttered something about not understanding why Severus always seemed to be in the wrong place. He gave up on that as he turned to look at large mirror behind him. Harry had seen it in the books that Hermione was studying in the Potter library, it was the Mirror of Erised. The purpose of this mirror was supposedly to show you your heart's desire though, so Harry couldn't work out what it was here for until Quirrell started musing out loud as he walked around it.

"Dumbledore somehow used this mirror to hide the stone, there are no compartments and nothing hidden on it though, so how is the stone hidden?"

Harry could see himself reflected in the mirror with his parents, but suddenly his image winked and pulled a blood-red stone out of his pocket for a moment to show it before returning it. At the same time he could feel a lump in his packet that hadn't been there before.

Just then he heard a strange, hissing voice that made his skin crawl. "Use the boy, he knows something, I feel it!"

Quirrell cancelled the binding spell and dragged Harry over in front of the mirror. "What do you see?"

"I. I see myself with my parents."

"Well you'll be there soon enough. Where's the stone?"

"I. I don't know. I can't see it."

The hissing voice came again. "He's lying! Let me deal with him!"

"Master, you're not ready!"

"And you're useless! Let me deal with him!"

Quirrell muttered "Yes Master." and began to unwrap that strange turban he always wore. Harry didn't understand what he was doing until the last fold of cloth came away and he was looking at a strange, twisted and malevolent face reflected in the mirror, one that was attached to the back of Quirrell's head. The hissing voice spoke again.

"See what I have become boy? Mere shadow and vapor ... I have form only when I can share another's body... but there have always been those willing to let me into their hearts and minds... Unicorn blood has strengthened me, these past weeks... you saw faithful Quirrell drinking it for me in the forest... and once I have the Elixir of Life, I will be able to create a body of my own... Now... give me the Stone!"

The red eyes of the other face stared into his and he felt it trying to probe his mind. He raised his shields behind the 'safe' memories that he kept in the front of his mind. As the probing got stronger he allowed some of the barriers to fall and let the first part of what he saw in the mirror of him with his parents show, and then the memory of another loving family, him with his aunt and uncle and cousin and where they lived. This was an exercise Angela had had him do when she was training him to resist attempts to control him, the scene of his family was something he'd always hung onto and it had gotten more real after he saw pictures of his parents and and could add their faces to the images.

What Angela had had him do was replace their faces with something else for someone probing his mind to see, and his anger had unconsciously supplied the Dursleys, their house and street. Remus had told Angela stories of what had been done to the boy when he was in these people's hands, so she held back her impulse to say that the image was supposed to be made up when he told her who they were. Voldemort was frustrated when he couldn't see what he wanted in the boy's mind, but stopped Quirrell when he suggested that they curse it out of him, cursing the boy was what had gotten him in this state in the first place.

Voldemort looked at the boy's image and focussed on the scar on his forehead. There was a part of him there, something he hadn't meant to give up. He wasn't supposed to create another part that day but when that curse rebounded from the boy what was left in him went down the link into the boy. Yes, that should work, he may not be able to curse the boy but that was part of himself embedded there, that would give him the way to find out what he wanted.

He told Quirrell to put his hand over the scar, but when Quirrell grabbed the boy and did as he was told, he screamed, they both did. Just before he passed out from the unbearable pain that was shooting through the scar, Harry saw Quirrell staggering back, screaming as he stared at his arm as it rapidly blackened, turned to ash and fell away.

* * *

When Harry came to, he was in his bed, Tally popped in, and within a few minutes it seemed that everyone was there. When they settled down, he found that he'd been unconscious for two days, his head throbbed and he felt weak. He looked at Remus and asked about the stone. Remus shook his head. "Gone. Madam Longbottom and Madam Bones found Flamel and told him about what Dumbledore's plan to use it for had been. Flamel was horrified to hear that because Dumbledore had assured him that he would hide it away so that no-one could ever find it, so to find out that he'd in fact been using it as bait to draw in Voldemort with the opportunity to recreate himself was too much for Flamel and he destroyed it to ensure that it could never be used for that purpose."

"But doesn't he need the Stone to live?"

"Yes, but he decided that him continuing what has become a boring life after several centuries wasn't enough to balance out the risk of Voldemort or someone else like him using it to restart his war. Thousands died and thousands more were effected in his first war and Flamel was not prepared to have that weighing on his soul, so he destroyed the Stone in Madam Longbottom and Bones' presence."

Remus hesitated then. "He also told them that he was changing his will, he had intended for his fortune to go to Dumbledore to fund the fight against the dark, but finding out just what types of things Dumbledore was prepared to do has now made him lose confidence that it would be used for things that he could support. After hearing what happened to Voldemort's host when it tried to control you, he is convinced that you are the key to fighting the dark, so you will now inherit everything he has to fund that fight. As it is coming to you personally, it won't be locked away until you reach your majority like the Potter estate is so you will be able to use it for what is needed for now." He grinned then. "Of course, Dumbledore doesn't know anything about that, so it will come as a nasty surprise when he doesn't get a thing after Nicholas dies."

* * *

The next night was the end of year feast. Everyone had been looking forward to it so the Great Hall was full when Harry arrived. Susan and Padma waved to him from the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables and Hermione and Neville were keeping a spot for him at the end of the Gryffindor table. Everyone else just ignored him. Remus, Angela, Rackclaw and Krogar stood against the wall close to them. The hall was decked out in the Slytherin green and silver to celebrate Slytherin's winning the house cup for the seventh year in a row, they had been given a clear lead in the House Cup after Dumbledore deducted that hundred points from Gryffindor for Harry and Hermione's supposed actions. A huge banner showing the Slytherin serpent covered the wall behind the High Table.

Harry could see Snape glowering at him from the High Table, and saw a quick glimpse of a similar expression on Dumbledore's face before he replaced it with a benevolent smile. The situation and what to do about it was going through Dumbledore's head, because it appeared now that he might have drawn the wrong conclusion about the prophecy. He couldn't understand what could have turned Quirrell into a pile of ash and Lupin would only say that that happened to him after he touched Harry. He couldn't find the Stone in the mirror, and when he contacted Nicholas he'd told him not to worry as the Stone had been returned to him, but would not say anything else. The boy had been unconscious for the past two days so who had returned the stone to Nicholas?

He turned his gaze on the boy sitting with his friends at the end of the Gryffindor table again. The brat continued to interfere with his plans but he was obviously a force to be reckoned with, after all he had faced Voldemort twice now and had come out on top both times. This fight obviously wasn't finished yet so he'd have to get the boy on-side somehow. Part of that could handled if he gave in to the demands that Minerva and the other professors had made to advance him and his friends to Third year, though he wasn't going to allow all of the ones they proposed to be held back as some of them had members of the Hogwarts board in their families.

It might make if better if he sweetened the pot though, many in Gryffindor had blamed the boy and the Granger girl for them losing any chance of winning the House Cup after that hundred points had been deducted for them and it had reportedly made things difficult for them in the Gryffindor tower, perhaps if he recognised them for what they did to stop Quirrell and gave those points back to give Gryffindor the victory, that would show them that he was on their side? Yes, that should do nicely! With that, he stood up and made his usual announcements before getting on with the business at hand.

"Now, as I understand it, the house cup here needs awarding, and the points stand thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and twenty five points; in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty two; Ravenclaw has four hundred and twenty six and Slytherin, four hundred and seventy two."

A storm of cheering and stamping broke out from the Slytherin table. Harry could see Draco Malfoy banging his goblet on the table excitedly. It was enough to turn his stomach.

"Yes, well done, Slytherin, well done." said Dumbledore. "However, recent events must also be taken into account."

The room went very still. The Slytherins' smiles faded a little.

"I have a few last-minute points to dish out. Let me see. Yes..."

"First…. to Mister Neville Longbottom…. For steadfast courage and the calm application of what he has learned, I award Gryffindor house forty points."

Neville looked shocked as Gryffindor cheers nearly raised the bewitched ceiling; the stars overhead seemed to quiver. At last there was silence again.

"Second…. to Miss Hermione Granger... for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."

Hermione beamed and Harry gave her a hug.

Gryffindors up and down the table were whispering to each other…. they had almost made that hundred points back.

"And third... to Mister Harry Potter..." said Dumbledore. The room went deadly quiet. "For pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house sixty points."

The Gryffindor table erupted and Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw were almost as loud. Only the Slytherin table was quiet as they sat in stunned silence, wondering what had happened here. Harry looked at the High Table and saw Snape glaring at him as if he wanted to kill him, that just made Harry grin wider.

"Which means." Dumbledore called over the storm of applause. "By my calculations we need a little change of decoration."

He clapped his hands and in a flash, the green and silver hangings became scarlet and gold, and the huge Slytherin serpent behind the High Table vanished, being replaced by a towering Gryffindor lion. Snape was shaking Professor McGonagall's hand, forcing a smile onto his face as he congratulated her.

Everyone but the Slytherins had a wonderful time for the rest of the dinner. No-one said a thing when Harry called Remus and the others over to get food and Harry just smiled at the calculating look Dumbledore sent his way.

* * *

With all the drama of the past week, Harry at least had almost forgotten about the exam results, and the five of them were shocked to find out just how well they had gone. The shocks just kept coming as they were told that they'd actually been learning and had been tested on Second year topics, so they were skipping over Second year and going straight into Third year. The third surprise was also a surprise to Dumbledore because the Heads of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw had held that point back from him, that they had learned that Hogwarts was creating a separate tower for the five of them and Harry's staff, and they'd have the special classrooms that were created for them this year as part of that tower as well. Minerva took great pleasure in telling Dumbledore. "We have been informed that this will be known as the Potter Tower."

The usual announcement was made that students were not allowed to practice magic away from Hogwarts, but the purebloods smirked as they knew that that really only applied to the muggleborns. The purebloods were generally schooled by their parents and tutors at home over summer to make sure that they'd do better when they went back next year. Having them shame the family by losing to muggleborns was _not_ something that would be accepted.

* * *

Padma was sitting with Pavati on the way back on the Hogwarts Express, so the other four shared a compartment with Remus and Angela and discussed what they were doing over summer. Padma had already told them that she would have to stay with her family, but she would be coming over for as many day trips as she was allowed. Neville and Susan were still negotiating how much of the summer they'd be able to spend at Potter Manor.

Hermione and her parents were coming over for a good part of the summer, but her parents had to work for part of it and they also had a two week holiday on the Continent planned. Harry would be going with them for those two weeks, and Neville and Susan were hoping to be able to go for at least part of it as well, though that meant that that they'd need to be schooled in living in the muggle world first, which would be interesting. Remus and Angela of course would be going along as well, but they'd both lived in the muggle world for a time so that didn't represent a problem for them.

When Harry exited Platform 9 ¾, Molly Weasley came up to him again, but she was more controlled this time as her master had apparently taken her to task for her spectacular failure last time. She stiffly invited him to spend time with them at the Burrow so that he could get to know what it was like to live with a _real_ family, sniffing at Remus and Hermione who were standing behind him as she said that.

Harry politely thanked her for the invitation, but said that he would once again be spending the holiday with his friends and their families. She let it go with a. "Well you know the offer's there if you change your mind dear." and walked off.

She was actually replaced by Arthur Weasley with the twins, because the twins wanted to know if there was any chance that they could spend some time with him over the summer. George looked around to make sure no-one was near before he added. "Yeah, we want to join you guys in sticking it to Dumbledore and the rest of them!"

Harry grinned. "Well we'll see what we can do." he looked at Arthur and told him that contacting them through Bill would probably be the easiest approach. Arthur agreed.

After that, they greeted Neville's Gran and said their goodbyes until they saw them again, doing the same with Susan and Madam Bones before they took the Grangers off to portkey away to the Manor.


	5. Dark Matters

**Apparently the last chapter didn't go down too well with most for some reason. Oh well, I'll have to live with that I guess.**

 **I must admit, I was a little disappointed that the chess pieces floating away apparently didn't tickle anyone else's fancy the way it did mine.**

 **Usual disclaimers, no rights to any characters portrayed and this is neither the real world nor a Disney Princess tale.**

Albus Dumbledore wasn't the only one who wanted to know how Harry had turned Professor Quirrell to ash. The goblins, through Gringotts, still had at least four years left to honour on the contract that they had entered into with Lord James Potter to do what they could to ensure that his heir would live until he reached his majority, at which time Lord Henry Potter had the option of extending that contract.

This meant that Gringotts had the legal and ethical obligation to investigate and respond to anything which might endanger Lord Potter, and bizarre and unexplained events such as what happened in the confrontation with Professor Quirrell certainly came under that heading, so Gringotts was required to take action. Quite aside from that, and the fact that Lord Potter had not yet reached his twelfth birthday meant that he triggered the protective mandates of goblin culture in regard to children, most of the goblins who Harry had had significant interactions with had developed a good deal of respect and commitment, and even affection, for the young Lord over the four years that they'd been dealing with him.

This of course included the goblins in charge of the Potter Estate's security and Lord Potter's personal security, but surprisingly it also included the Head Goblin, and he threw considerable resources at the task of looking into the matter. The goblins responsible for looking into this matter were given a simple mandate. "Get to the bottom of this and find an answer. Or else!"

That was why Harry's summer holiday started with the first of many examinations by goblin and human healers and curse breakers. The experts quickly came to the agreement that this was more of a curse breaker than a healer matter, so from there they concentrated on the curse breaking aspects. They brought in their best experts to probe deeply into his memories with the Legilimens spell and the curse breakers became excited when they revealed the memory of his parents casting the protective charm over him together.

A team of their very best curse breakers came back after a week of dissecting this memory to report that it appeared that Lily Potter had somehow managed to craft a protective charm which effectively repelled and responded to dark magic. They postulated that when Voldemort had cast the killing curse at Lord Potter, due to this protective charm that specific curse had been reflected back at Voldemort, killing him, or at least his body.

What they didn't quite understand was why Voldemort had not died when that happened, but had instead apparently split his soul, and so that one part went back over the link that existed between him and Harry at that moment and lodged in the mark left by the killing curse while the other part departed to another plain. Their theory was that, while certainly tainted, the Dark Lord's soul had not exactly been dark magic and therefore that was the reason why it had not been repelled.

One of the older curse breakers working on the problem had a vague memory of some ancient dark rites which split the soul. The problem was that he could not remember when or where he'd seen this information, he thought that it had been in hieroglyphics but couldn't be certain of that. Curse breakers that Gringotts had in Egypt were tasked with looking for any information that might relate to this.

Their tentative theory about what happened with Quirrell was that when he touched the mark that held Voldemort's soul fragment and tried to force his way into Harry's head through that, the protective charm didn't have a specific curse to strike back against, so in its attempt to protect Harry it had just struck back generally and that was what totally destroyed Quirrell. When they were asked about the excruciating pain that Harry experienced on this and other occasions when Voldemort had tried to get into his head, their theory was that the protective charms were either striking back at the point where the attack entered Harry, alternatively it may just a side effect of the charms protecting Harry from dark magic, or possibly both.

There was only one thing that the curse breakers were certain of, and that was that Lily Potter had to have been absolutely brilliant to craft this. There was considerable debate between them about the possibly of using this to create a weapon that could be used to specifically attack dark magic, but that was put aside when they were forcibly reminded by the Head Goblin that they were supposed to be looking into ways to protect Lord Potter, not going off on research projects.

It was respect as much as fear that made the curse breakers scrabble to follow their leader's commands. It didn't take them long to come up with the idea that Voldemort's soul fragment should be theoretically be removable, and if they could do this successfully, Lord Potter's suffering and danger should be significantly reduced. While the idea didn't take long to come up with though, that was merely the start of their long and involved efforts to find a way to actually do it, and how to destroy that soul fragment once it was released without putting Lord Potter at more risk.

* * *

While the investigation required many visits to Gringotts, these were generally no more than a few hours at most, so the majority of Harry's time was spent at Potter Manor, training, in tutor or study sessions or spending time with Hermione and his other friends. With summer and the time to do it, Harry took great delight in introducing the others to the centaurs and unicorns who lived in the woods that surrounded the Manor, and the merpeople who lived in the lake.

Whenever Neville, Padma, and to a lesser extent Susan, were at the Manor, they were taught about the muggle world and how to fit in there. The muggle entertainment room was very useful for this, and Dan and Jean leapt at the chance of helping out with the lessons because being able to teach the magical children about their world made them feel far less out of their depth and useless in what had become their daughter's world.

Arthur Weasley was there with the twins one time they were having the lessons and it was no surprise that Arthur begged to be allowed to sit in on them. The twins sat in for a lark at first, but they found themselves almost as fascinated as their father was and from then on tried to come whenever they could. Selling their trips to do this to Molly and the rest of the family at the Burrow as working off their punishment for the trouble they made with their pranks at the ministry ensured that none of the others asked many questions or wanted to be included.

As well as the muggle lessons, Harry convinced Neville and Padma that they needed to be much fitter to be a part of the muggle world and got them join him in his exercise sessions. Hermione and Susan didn't need much convincing to join in and Dan and Jean also joined in for some of them, this tended to turn those exercise sessions into part of the muggle lessons as they'd talk as they exercised.

As they got closer to the date for the holiday on the continent, they took the children on shopping trips into the muggle world to get them suitable clothes, and for them to actually see the world that they were going into. Harry didn't have much more experience out and about in the muggle world than Neville and Padma did as he'd been kept locked away most of the time except for school until he was nearly eight, and had been in the magical world since then with limited trips into the muggle world, so this was an experience for him as well.

The holiday on the Continent itself was fun, Harry was with them the whole time and Neville and Susan were each there for nearly a week, Padma managed to be allowed to come for a couple of days as well. Neville and Harry's birthdays came in the middle of that holiday, so they were all there for their combined birthday and Neville's Gran was brought over for the dinner (she'd also sat in on a few of the muggle sessions so she could pull off dinner in the muggle world).

* * *

As the summer holiday drew to a close and they got their Hogwarts letters for the coming school year, they agreed on a day to go to Diagon Alley to get their school things together. Only Padma missed out because she had to go with Pavati and her parents. Having Remus, Angela, Rackclaw and Krogar with them was enough to keep most people away, but unfortunately Molly Weasley was like a bulldog when she had her orders from Dumbledore and she was all over Harry when they ran into the Weasleys in Flourish & Blotts when they went to get their school books. Molly's clinging was the reason that Harry didn't have a chance to leave before Gilderoy Lockhart, the foppish glory hound who was in the store that day signing books and autographs, latched onto him.

Lockhart cried out his name and raced across the room to grab Harry as soon as he saw him, dragging him forward to have pictures taken with the boy who lived. Harry didn't bother correcting Lockhart when he loudly announced that he would be Harry's new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher and presented him with his entire collection of signed works. With the crowd that was packed inside the book store, who seemed strangely enamoured with Lockhart for some reason, it would have attracted too much attention if they made a scene, so Harry shook his head at Remus when he went to tear the fop off of him, just as he had when Molly Weasley descended on him.

The pictures taken of him however were something that he had no intention of allowing, so he glanced at Remus and then pointedly looked at the photographer. Remus nodded and after Lockhart went back to signing books for his adoring fans, Harry heard a quiet. "Incendio" just before the photographer's camera burst into flames and he dropped it. By the time the fire had been stomped out, there was no way that any pictures would be recovered from _that_ camera.

He was tempted to burn Lockhart's books then and there too, but he didn't believe in burning books, not even the sort of dross that he was sure this was, and even if he didn't have any use for them, he could see from the line of Hogwarts students waiting to get books signed (though even at 'the amazingly low price of only a sickle per signature', most of them were only getting one book signed, not the entire set like Harry had) that they must have been made compulsory texts for Lockhart's classes.

He could see Ginny Weasley looking disappointed as she stood off to the side with her parents, the twins and Ron. It wasn't hard to work out that the Weasleys wouldn't be able to afford more than one set of the books and would therefore they'd be sharing the set that Percy had between all five of them (well three of them actually, but Molly didn't know that Arthur had already signed the agreements to have the twins join Harry's private tutor sessions). So he went over and put Lockhart's books into Ginny's cauldron, telling her and her parents that he wouldn't be needing them because he wasn't going to be in Lockhart's class so Ginny could make better use of them than he would.

Ginny beamed as if he'd given her the greatest gift ever and Arthur's smile was almost as bright, but Molly started blustering and demanding to know why he wasn't attending Professor Lockhart's class, because he was the greatest Defence Against the Dark Arts wizard there was. Harry looked in confusion at Arthur and Remus, and as they obviously had no more clue than he did about what was going on, he took a closer look at the people in the store. He couldn't work out why all of the women in the store, even Amelia, Angela and more than a few of the men, seemed enamoured with Lockhart to varying degrees, but then it suddenly clicked. All of their books were quickly handed to Dan with the gold to go pay for them and Harry was preparing to have Remus and the goblins hustle the women of their group out of the store as quick as they could when they were interrupted.

Just as Harry was talking to Remus about getting them out of there, an altercation broke out between the Weasleys and the Malfoys. Draco started it by going up to Ginny and baiting her about being a fool if she thought she could ever stand a chance with Potter, then his father Lucius stepped in to twist the knife by saying that at least her blood was better than that muggle that Potter was always with, even if her family were blood traitors. The escalating argument that kicked off ended up in a scuffle between Arthur and Lucius which Remus and the goblins had to break up before they could drag most of the Weasleys out of the store with them. What none of them realised at the time was that this altercation had in fact been staged by Lucius Malfoy in order to set something else in play.

When Dan had rejoined the group, Harry explained over ice cream at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour that in his opinion the only thing which could explain Lockhart's effect on the women and some of the men in Flourish & Blotts was that he had to be either using some pheromone potion to attract and influence them, or he was using some sort of combined glamour and compulsion charm that was primarily focussed on women. He finished with a question. "I'm guessing that the use of either of those things for financial or other gain would be rather less than legal?"

It took but a moment for everyone else to realise that he was right and all of the women were furious at being manipulated like that, none more so than Amelia and Angela because it hit at their professional pride. After all, Madam Bones was the Director of Magical Law Enforcement and Angela had been an Auror with an outstanding reputation before she had been hired to be Harry's tutor and part of his protection, so having succumbed to something like this was a serious blow to their pride.

Amelia was about to rush back to Flourish & Blotts and confront Lockhart until Harry pointed out as diplomatically as he could that if she did that she'd most likely come under the effect of whatever he was using again. She sat down abruptly as she grudgingly admitted that he was right, and that she was going to have to choose the team to investigate Lockhart carefully.

* * *

It was clear that something was going on when Harry couldn't get through the barrier to Platform 9 ¾ to get onto the Hogwarts Express. He sent Tally to go tell Neville and the girls what was going on, as only Hogwarts staff or students could go through to the platform, and Hermione came back out with Crookshanks, saying that Neville and the others would handle the rest of her things on the train for her but she was coming with him. That got her a hug from Harry before Tally and Dommy popped them off them to Hogwarts, where they were confronted outside the front door by a strange looking elf wringing his hands.

Dommy and Tally went to move him while Remus and the others formed up around Harry and Hermione but Harry stopped them and waved them away, leaning down to say "Hello, who are you?"

The elf bowed. "I am Dobby sir, it is an honour to finally meet the great Harry Potter."

While nice, this wasn't getting them anywhere, so Harry tried to move it along. "Not that I'm not pleased to meet you Dobby, but, um, is there any particular reason you're here?"

"Oh, yes, sir," said Dobby earnestly. "Dobby has come to tell you, sir ... it is difficult, sir ... Dobby wonders where to begin . . . ."

Harry tried to settle him a little. "Well if this is going to be a long story, why don't we have a seat over here?"

Unfortunately, this didn't have the desired effect and the elf burst into tears.

"S... Sit down?" he wailed. "Never ... never ever. . . "

"I'm sorry," he whispered, "I didn't mean to offend you or anything…."

"Offend Dobby?" choked out the elf. "Dobby has never been asked to sit down by a wizard, like an equal….."

Harry said. "Well you can't have met many decent wizards then."

Dobby shook his head. Then, without warning, he leapt up off the seat and conjured a Quidditch beater's bat with which he began hitting himself furiously, shouting. "Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!" as he did so.

"Don't! What are you doing?" Harry cried, springing up and pulling Dobby back onto the seat.

"Dobby had to punish himself, sir," said the elf, who was looking a little dazed and punch drunk. "Dobby almost spoke ill of his family, sir . . . ."

"Your family?"

"The wizard family Dobby serves, sir... Dobby is a house elf, so I am bound to serve one house and one family forever . ..…

"Do they know you're here?" asked Harry curiously.

Dobby shuddered.

"Oh, no, sir, no ... Dobby will have to punish himself most grievously for coming to see you, sir. Dobby will have to shut his ears in the oven door for this. If they ever knew, sir…." he shuddered again.

"But won't they notice if you shut your ears in the oven door?" Harry hadn't had anything to do with any house elves other than the Potter elves, and this sounded quite bizarre.

"Dobby doubts it, sir. Dobby is always having to punish himself for something, sir. They lets Dobby get on with it, sir. Sometimes they reminds me to do extra punishments ..."

"But why don't you leave? Escape?"

"A house-elf must be set free, sir. And the family will never set Dobby free ... Dobby will serve the family until he dies, sir . . . ."

Harry stared. "And I thought I had it bad with the Dursleys, that makes them sound almost human. Can't anyone help you? Can't I…." He looked up to see Hermione with tears in her eyes. "Can't we help you?"

Almost at once, Harry wished he hadn't spoken, because Dobby dissolved into wails of gratitude again.

"Harry Potter asks if he can help Dobby ... Dobby has of course heard of your greatness, sir, but of your goodness, Dobby never knew . ..."

Harry was blushing madly and snapped. "Whatever you may have heard about my greatness is a load of rubbish. I'm just Harry."

"Harry Potter is humble and modest." said Dobby reverently, his bulbous eyes glowing. "Harry Potter speaks not of his triumph over He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named…."

"Voldemort?" said Harry.

Dobby clamped his hands over his bat-like ears and moaned, "Oh, you must not speak that name, sir! You must never speak that name!"

"I'm Sorry" said Harry quickly. "I know lots of people don't like it."

Dobby leaned toward Harry, his eyes wide. "Dobby heard tell." he whispered hoarsely, "that Harry Potter met the Dark Lord for a second time just a few months ago ... and that Harry Potter escaped again. "

Harry nodded and Dobby's eyes suddenly shone with tears. He gasped, wiping his face on a corner of the grubby pillowcase he was wearing. "Harry Potter is valiant and bold! He has braved so many dangers already! But Dobby has to come to protect Harry Potter, to warn him, even if he must shut his ears in the oven door later... Harry Potter must _not_ stay at Hogwarts."

"What?" Harry blurted out. "But I've got to be here - term starts today. Being here with my friends is what keeps me going."

"No, no, no," squeaked Dobby, shaking his head so hard his ears flapped. "Harry Potter must stay away so he is safe. He is too great, too good, to lose. If Harry Potter stays at Hogwarts, he will be in mortal danger."

"What will I be in danger from?" said Harry in surprise.

"There is a plot, Harry Potter. A plot to make most terrible things happen at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this year," whispered Dobby, suddenly trembling all over. "Dobby has known of it for months, sir. Harry Potter must not put himself in peril. He is too important, sir!"

"What terrible things?" said Harry at once. "Who's plotting them?"

Dobby made a funny choking noise and then hit his head with the beater's bat again.

"All right! Stop" cried Harry, grabbing the elf's arm to stop him. "You can't tell me. I understand that. But why are you warning me?" suddenly, an unpleasant thought struck him.

"Hang on - this hasn't got anything to do with Vol…. Sorry, with You-Know-Who, has it? You can just shake your head or nod," he added hastily as Dobby raised the bat again.

Dobby shook his head. "No, it is not He- Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, sir."

Dobby's eyes were wide and he seemed to be trying to give Harry a hint. Harry, however, was completely lost.

"Well then, I can't think who else would be making horrible things happen at Hogwarts," said Harry. "I mean, there's Dumbledore, you know who Dumbledore is, don't you?"

Dobby bowed his head.

"Albus Dumbledore is the greatest headmaster Hogwarts has ever had. Dobby knows this sir. Dobby has heard Dumbledore's powers rival those of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named at the height of his strength. But, sir…." Dobby's voice dropped to an urgent whisper. "There are powers Dumbledore doesn't ... powers no decent wizard.. ."

While Harry was shaking his head that here was yet another one who seemed to believe that Dumbledore was some sort of deity. Dobby started hitting himself with the beater's bat again.

Harry grabbed at the bat. "Dobby. Dobby! Stop! Stop hitting yourself! Just tell me who's plotting to do terrible things at Hogwarts!"

Dobby looked torn. "I am sorry Harry Potter Sir, but I cannot tell you that. I can only tell you that Hogwarts is not safe for Harry Potter and you must leave!"

At that, he disappeared with a pop and after discussing his strange warning, they continued to the entrance of Hogwarts where Professor McGonagall was waiting for them. Professor McGonagall looked bemused and wanted an explanation as to why they were there hours before the Hogwarts Express could arrive. She was rather concerned by the report that Harry had not been able to get through the barrier to Platform 9 ¾, and what Harry repeated about his discussion with the strange elf, Dobby, but there was little that they could do about it at the time.

* * *

After talking to Professor McGonagall, they proceeded to Potter Tower to get settled in and await the arrival of the Hogwarts Express. Harry snorted when he saw Fred and George's rooms, as Hogwarts had obviously added them when Arthur signed the agreements for them to be taken out of their regular classes and added to Harry's private tutor sessions. The other five weren't that far behind the twins in the general classes with the work they'd done in the First year, and they were actually ahead of them in Potions, History of Magic and Defence Against the Dark Arts, so the plan was that they would all be working towards moving into Fifth year after this. That brought them all to the same level, the fact that the twins were two years ahead at the start notwithstanding.

When the Hogwarts Express arrived, Remus and Angela met the five who were on the train and escorted them to Potter Tower to join the others, then they went to the sorting feast. Fred and George presented the signed agreements to Professor McGonagall, as their head of house, when they arrived at the feast so that she could advise the other professors as she saw fit.

The other Gryffindors thought it strange that the twins cheered just as loud when Luna Lovegood was sorted into Ravenclaw as they did when their sister Ginny was sorted into Gryffindor. The general reaction was 'so what?' when the twins pointed out that Luna was Ginny's best friend and they knew her almost as well as they did their little sister. The fact that Percy and Ron shared the 'so what?' attitude did little to draw the family closer but Ginny appreciated the twins' support for Luna. As there were already questions about why the twins' beds weren't in the Gryffindor Fourth Year dorm room, this caused the divide between them and their year mates that came from the twins bonding with each other rather than the rest of the house to become wider. This divide was to grow wider again the next morning at breakfast when the students' schedules were handed out and the others discovered that they had joined Potter's group.

Of course, Dumbledore made a big production of listing many of Lockhart's reported adventures and achievements when he introduced him as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. What was amazing to the original five was the way that so many of the students and staff were lapping it up, most of the girls were looking like, well they were looking like they had massive schoolgirl crushes, but more than a few of the boys were behaving the same way. Harry couldn't work out whether this was an indication of their orientation or just that they were more susceptible to compulsion. He stopped when he thought of that and made a mental note to let Madam Bones know that it seemed to be a compulsion that Lockhart was using, because there was no way that pheromones would work like this over an entire hall the size of the Great Hall.

* * *

After their holiday on the Continent and their exercise sessions, the five went back to Hogwarts rather more fit and tanned than most of the students and this was the cause of much more unwanted attention, for the girls especially but Harry and Neville were having to turn away a lot more offers as well. This in turn caused issues between Padma and Pavati because Pavati had always been regarded as 'the pretty one' and she was jealous of the fact that Padma was getting more attention than she was, even if Padma didn't want it.

The first classes of the year were herbology, and Professor Sprout had them re-potting mandrake seedlings. The idea of plants that could kill with their scream was a little disturbing, and Professor Sprout's assurance that the seedlings' voices couldn't actually kill you wasn't exactly reassuring, nor for that matter was the fact that the mandrake seedlings looked like ugly, evil little wriggling gnome babies. They got through the double herbology session alright, but the fact that anyone with any shred of self respect went to get cleaned up and find clean robes before their next class meant that over half of them were late, which didn't make Professor McGonagall very happy.

Of course, living in Potter Tower and being exempted from nearly half of the normal classes meant that they were talked about quite a bit. For that matter the fact that they took on Arithmancy, Study of Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures as their electives instead of the easier subjects of Divination and Muggle Studies led to comments as well, especially seeing as only one of them was in Ravenclaw.

Dumbledore was still trying to find ways to get control of Harry, and Snape was trying to find ways to get at him and the others, but living in their own tower and not even having to leave it for three of their core subjects meant that Snape couldn't get anywhere near them half the time. Unfortunately half the time was still enough for Harry to have a run in with Malfoy and his goons when they went after Hermione and Snape jumped at the chance of giving him detention. Equally unfortunate was the fact that Snape was actually quite intelligent and observant, so when Lockhart requested that Harry serve his detention with him he gleefully handed him over, as he could tell that Harry would hate that, and he couldn't do much to him with the werewolf and the goblins there anyway, which they would be.

Detention turned out to be helping Lockhart respond to his fan mail, and less than two hours into it, Remus was so aggravated that he was having trouble holding back a transformation and the goblins were fiddling with their swords as if they _really_ wanted to use them. Harry tried to block out Lockhart's inane blathering, which was all about himself of course, as the candles burned lower and lower, making the light dance over the many moving faces of Lockhart watching him.

Harry moved his aching hand over what felt like the thousandth envelope, writing out Vera Smedley's address. It _had_ to be nearly time to leave, Harry thought miserably, please let it be nearly time…and then he heard something….. something quite different from the spitting of the dying candles and Lockhart's prattle about his fans. He didn't know where it was coming from but it was a voice, a voice fit to chill you to the bone, a voice filled with venom.

"Come ... come to me... Let me rip you... Let me tear you ... Let me kill you . .. ."

Harry jumped and a large lilac blot appeared on Vera Smedley's street.

He blurted out. "What?"

"I know!" Lockhart said happily. "Six solid months at the top of the best-seller list! Broke all records!"

"No," Harry blurted out urgently. "That voice!"

"Sorry?" said Lockhart, looking puzzled. "What voice?"

"That... That voice that said... Didn't you hear it?"

Lockhart was looking at Harry in confusion.

"What on Earth are you talking about, Harry? Perhaps you're getting a little drowsy? Great Scott, look at the time! We've been here nearly four hours! I'd never have believed it... the time's just flown, hasn't it?"

Harry didn't answer. He was straining his ears to hear the voice again, but there was no sound now except for Lockhart rabbiting on about how he mustn't expect a treat like this every time he got detention.

He looked at Remus, but he shook his head to say that he hadn't heard any voice, though his expression said that he'd heard something. With that, they left.

On the way back to Potter Tower, Harry asked Remus what he'd heard, but Remus said he wasn't sure, saying that it was something like the wind hissing through corridors and stones moving somewhere in the castle. There was also a scent that he didn't recognise but definitely didn't like on the air.

* * *

As they rolled into a cold, rainy October, they were reminded once again that the cold and flu season applied to the magical world, too. Madam Pomfrey was doling out her pepperup potions to those who were hit hardest by this and couldn't get out of taking it (it wasn't exactly something most chose to take because it was less than pleasant to have steam shooting out your ears for five to ten minutes after you take the potion). Percy bullied Ginny into taking these potions as often as Madam Pomfrey would allow, because apparently her pale, listless appearance was a problem for some reason.

The rain had been bad enough to keep the others inside when Harry went out for a run in the rain in a wasted attempt to clear his head, leaving Dommy to keep watch over him. Therefore Harry was alone when he came back in and he came across somebody who looked just as preoccupied as he was as he squelched along the deserted corridor. Sir Nicholas, the ghost of Gryffindor Tower, was staring morosely out of a window, muttering under his breath, ". . . don't fulfil their requirements . . . half an inch, if that ... ."

"Hello, Sir Nicholas," said Harry.

The ghost started, saying. "Oh, hello." as he looked round. He wore a dashing, plumed hat on his long curly hair, and the ruff he wore mostly concealed the fact that his neck was almost completely severed. He was pale as smoke, and Harry could see right through him to the dark sky and torrential rain outside.

"You look troubled, young Lord Potter," said Sir Nicholas, folding a transparent letter as he spoke and tucking it inside his doublet.

"So do you, if you don't mind me saying so Sir Nicholas."

"Ah," the ghost waved an elegant hand as if to brush the issue away. "a matter of no real importance. . . . It's not as though I really wanted to join. . . . Thought I'd apply, but apparently I 'don't fulfil requirements'…"

For all his his airy tone, there was a distinct look of bitterness on his face.

"But you would think, wouldn't you?" he erupted suddenly, pulling the letter back out of his doublet, "that enduring getting hit repeatedly in the neck with a blunt axe should qualify you to join the Headless Hunt?"

"Oh, definitely!" said Harry, as he was obviously expected to agree.

"I mean, nobody wishes more than I do that it had all been quick and clean, and my head had come off properly, I mean, it would have saved me a great deal of pain and ridicule. However…."

Sir Nicholas shook his letter open and read furiously, even though he obviously knew it off by heart.

"We can only accept huntsmen whose heads have actually parted company with their bodies. You must appreciate how it would be impossible otherwise for members to participate in popular hunt activities such as Horseback Head-Tossing. It is therefore with the greatest regret that I must inform you that you do not fulfil the requirements for the Headless Hunt. With very best wishes, Sir Patrick Delaney-Podmore.'"

Fuming, Sir Nicholas stuffed the letter away again.

"Half an inch of skin and sinew holding my neck on, Harry! Most people would think that's good enough to count as beheaded, but oh, no, it's not enough for Sir Properly Decapitated-Podmore."

Sir Nicholas took several deep breaths and then said, in a far calmer tone, "So, what's bothering you dear boy? Is there anything I can do?"

"Not really Sir….."

The rest of Harry's sentence was cut off by a high-pitched mewling from somewhere near his ankles. He glanced down and found himself looking into the baleful gaze of a pair of lamp-like yellow eyes. It was Mrs. Norris, the scraggedly gray cat who served the caretaker, Argus Filch, as some sort of deputy in his endless battle against students.

"You'd best get out of here lad." said Sir Nicholas quickly. "Filch isn't in a good mood, he's got the flu and some of the third years accidentally blasted frog brains all over the ceiling in dungeon five. He's been cleaning all morning, and if he sees you dripping all over the place…."

"Right," said Harry, backing away from the accusing stare of Mrs. Norris, but not quickly enough.

Drawn to the spot by the connection between him with his foul cat, Argus Filch burst suddenly through a tapestry to Harry's right, wheezing and looking wildly about for the rule-breaker.

"Filth!" he shouted, his jowls aquiver, his eyes popping alarmingly as he pointed at the puddle that had dripped from Harry's running gear.

"Mess and muck everywhere! I've had enough of it, I tell you! Follow me, Potter!"

So Harry waved a gloomy good-bye to Sir Nicholas and followed Filch back downstairs, doubling the number of muddy footprints on the floor.

Harry had never been inside Filch's office before as Remus and Angela had normally kept him free of this sort of trouble. The room was dingy and windowless, lit by a single oil lamp dangling from the low ceiling. A faint smell of fish lingered about the place. Wooden filing cabinets stood around the walls and from the labels, Harry could see that they contained files on what appeared to be every pupil Filch had ever punished. He noted that Fred and George Weasley had an whole drawer to themselves. A highly polished collection of chains and manacles hung on the wall behind Filch's desk. Harry had heard stories about how he was always begging Dumbledore to let him go back to the traditional punishments.

Filch grabbed a quill from a pot on his desk and began shuffling around looking for parchment to write on as he muttered furiously. "I've had enough of it . . . have to make an example . . . where's that form . . . _yes_ . . ."

He retrieved a sheet of parchment from his desk drawer and stretched it out in front of him, dipping his long black quill into the ink pot.

"Name . . . Harry Potter. Crime . . ."

"It was only a bit of mud!" protested Harry.

"It's only a bit of mud to you, boy, but to me it's an extra hour scrubbing!" shouted Filch, a drip shivering from the end of his bulbous running nose.

"Crime . . . befouling the castle . . . suggested sentence . . ."

Dabbing at his streaming nose, Filch squinted unpleasantly at Harry who waited with bated breath for his sentence.

But as Filch lowered his quill to the parchment, they heard a great crash through the ceiling of the office, which made the oil lamp rattle.

" _Peeves!_ " Filch roared, throwing down his quill in a rage. "I'll have you this time, I'll have you!"

And without a backward glance at Harry, Filch ran from the office, Mrs. Norris at his heels.

Peeves was the school poltergeist, a grinning, airborne menace who lived to cause havoc and distress. Harry didn't much like Peeves, but couldn't help feeling grateful for his timing. Hopefully, whatever Peeves had done (and it sounded as though he'd wrecked something rather large this time) would distract Filch from Harry.

Though he'd like to get the hell out of there, Harry realised that he'd be best waiting for Remus to come and get him to avoid further trouble, so he sank back into a moth-eaten chair beside the desk. There was only one thing of note on it apart from his half-completed form: a sheaf of parchment with silver lettering on the front. With a quick glance at the door to check that Filch wasn't on his way back, Harry picked it up and read; Kwikspell A Correspondence Course in Beginners' Magic.

Intrigued, Harry leafed through the parchment, the next page was full of unlikely sounding testimonials and the rest was filled with very simple tips suitable for a small child. Harry was just reading "Lesson One: Holding Your Wand (Some Useful Tips)" when shuffling footsteps outside told him Filch was coming back. Harry threw the parchment back onto the desk just as the door opened.

Filch was looking triumphant.

"That vanishing cabinet was extremely valuable!" he was saying gleefully to Mrs. Norris. "We'll have Peeves out this time, my sweet…."

His eyes fell on Harry and then darted to the Kwikspell parchment, which, Harry realised too late, was lying nearly two feet away from where it had started.

Filch's pasty face went brick red. Harry braced himself for a tidal wave of fury. Filch hobbled across to his desk, snatching up the parchment, and throwing it into a drawer.

"Have you? Did you read?….." he sputtered.

"What? No." Harry lied quickly.

Filch was wringing his knobbly hands.

"If I thought you'd read my private…. not that it's mine, no, it's for a friend…. be that as it may, however….."

Harry was staring at him, alarmed. Filch had never looked more furious. His eyes were popping, a tic was going in one of his gaunt cheeks, and the tartan scarf didn't help the look.

"Very well. Go…. and don't breathe a word, not... However if you didn't read…. no! Go now, I have to write up Peeves' report, go…."

Grabbing the chance, Harry sped out of the office, up the corridor, and back upstairs. To escape from Filch's office without punishment was probably some kind of school record.

"Harry! Harry! Did it work?"

Sir Nicholas came gliding out of a classroom. Behind him, Harry could see the wreckage of a large black-and-gold cabinet that appeared to have been dropped from a great height.

"I persuaded Peeves to smash it right above Filch's office," said Sir Nicholas eagerly. "I thought it might distract him…."

"That was you?" asked Harry gratefully. "Yes, it certainly diverted him, and I didn't even get detention. Thank you!"

They set off down the corridor together. Harry could see Sir Patrick's rejection letter poking out of Sir Nicholas's doublet.

"I wish there was something I could do for you about the Headless Hunt." Harry said.

Sir Nicholas stopped in his tracks and Harry walked right through him. He wished he hadn't as it was like stepping through an icy shower.

"If you really mean that, there _is_ something you could do for me actually." Sir Nicholas said hopefully.

"Harry, would I be asking too much? But no, you wouldn't want…."

"What is it Sir Nicholas?" said Harry.

"Well, this Halloween will be my five hundredth deathday." said Sir Nicholas, drawing himself up and looking dignified.

"Oh." said Harry, not totally sure whether he should look sorry or happy about this. "Yes?"

"I'm holding a party down in one of the roomier dungeons. Friends will be coming from all over the country. It would be such an honour if you could attend. Your friends would be most welcome, too, of course….. but I dare say you'd rather go to the school feast?" He watched Harry anxiously.

Harry could see that this meant a lot to Sir Nicholas. "No. I'll come, we have Halloween every year but a five hundred year deathday, that's significant!"

"Oh my dear boy! Harry Potter, at my deathday party! And…." he hesitated, looking excited. "do you think you might possibly mention to Sir Patrick how very frightening and impressive you find me?"

"Of... of course," said Harry with a smile.

Sir Nicholas beamed at him and flew off to make arrangements.

"A deathday party?" said Hermione when Harry joined her and the others in the common room and told them what happened after getting himself cleaned up and changed. "I bet there won't be many living people who can say they've been to one of those, it should be fascinating!"

* * *

When Halloween came around, Hermione reminded him that "A promise is a promise Harry! You said you'd go to his deathday party so we're going!" when Harry started having second thoughts.

Padma and the twins had to go to the Halloween party because their families expected them to, so at seven o'clock, Harry, Hermione, Neville and Susan walked straight past the doorway to the packed Great Hall, which was glittering invitingly with gold plates and candles, and directed their steps instead toward the dungeons with Remus and Rackclaw.

The passageway leading to Sir Nicholas's party had been lined with candles, too, though the effect here was far from cheerful. These were long, thin, jet-black tapers, all burning blue, which cast a dim, ghostly light even over their own living faces. Furthermore, the temperature dropped with every step closer they took. As Harry shivered and drew his robes tightly around him, he heard what sounded like a thousand fingernails scraping an enormous blackboard.

Hermione asked in a whisper. "Is that supposed to be music?" Then they turned a corner and saw Sir Nicholas standing at a doorway hung with black velvet drapes.

"My dear friends," he said mournfully. "Welcome, welcome . . . so glad that you could come. . . ."

He swept off his plumed hat and bowed them inside.

They walked in to an incredible sight. The dungeon was full of hundreds of translucent people, mostly drifting around a crowded dance floor, waltzing to the dreadful, quavering sound that they'd heard coming down the passageway, which was played by an orchestra on a raised, black-draped platform. A chandelier overhead blazed with eerie blue from what looked like a thousand more of those black candles. Their breath rose in a mist before them, it was as if they'd stepped outside at the height of winter.

"Why don't we have a look around?" Harry suggested, hoping to warm himself up with a bit of activity.

"Careful not to walk through anyone," said Hermione nervously, and they set off around the edge of the dance floor. They passed a group of solemn nuns and a ragged man wearing chains before greeting the Fat Friar, the cheerful Hufflepuff ghost, who was talking to a knight with an arrow sticking out of his forehead and the Grey Lady, Helena Ravenclaw. Harry wasn't really surprised to see that the Bloody Baron, the gaunt, staring Slytherin ghost covered in silver bloodstains, was being given a wide berth by the other ghosts, but he nodded to him politely.

"Oh, no!" said Hermione, stopping abruptly. "Turn around, go back! We don't want to talk to Moaning Myrtle."

"Who?" said Harry as they backtracked quickly.

"She haunts one of the toilets in the girls' bathroom down here," said Hermione.

"She haunts a toilet?" Neville sounded doubtful.

"Yes. It's apparently where she died and it's out-of-order most of the time because she keeps throwing tantrums and flooding the place. I never went in there if I could avoid it anyway, it's awful trying to have a pee with her wailing at you." Susan agreed with her on that, thinking of her experiences there.

Neville pointed across the dungeon. "Look at that, they have food?" Even though they were raised in the magical world by more open minded folk than most, neither he nor Susan had ever been to a deathday party either, so this was new to them as well.

On the other side of the dungeon was a long table, also covered in black velvet. They approached it curiously but stopped in their tracks, horrified, as the smell was quite disgusting. Large, rotten fish were laid on handsome silver platters; cakes, burned charcoal-black, were heaped on salvers; there was a great maggoty haggis, a slab of cheese covered in furry green mold and, in pride of place, an enormous gray cake in the shape of a tombstone, with tar-like icing forming the words, Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington died 31st October, 1492 Harry watched, amazed, as a portly looking ghost approached the table, crouched low, and walked through it, his mouth held wide so that it passed through one of the reeking salmon.

"Can you taste it if you go though it like that?" Harry asked him.

"Almost, but not quite." said the ghost sadly, and he drifted away.

"I expect they've let it rot to give it a stronger flavour?" Hermione posed questioningly, pinching her nose and leaning closer to look at the putrid haggis.

Susan gagged. "Can we move away please? I feel sick."

They had barely turned around, however, when a little man swooped suddenly from under the table and came to a halt in midair before them.

"Hello, Peeves," said Harry cautiously.

Unlike the ghosts around them, Peeves the Poltergeist was the very reverse of pale and transparent. He was wearing a bright orange party hat, a revolving bow tie, and a broad grin on his wide, wicked face. He looked like a cross between an evil version of the Cheshire Cat and Tweedle Dee or Tweedle Dum at the moment, which didn't bode well for someone.

"Nibbles?" he asked sweetly, offering them a bowl of peanuts covered in fungus.

"No thanks." said Hermione.

"Heard you talking about poor Myrtle." said Peeves, his eyes dancing.

"Rude you was about poor Myrtle." He took a deep breath and bellowed. "OI! MYRTLE!"

"Oh, no, Peeves, don't tell her what I said, she'll be really upset," Hermione whispered frantically. "I didn't mean it, I don't mind her, um, hello, Myrtle."

The ghost of a girl had glided over. She looked sader than anyone Harry had ever seen, even though her face was half-hidden behind lank hair and thick, pearly spectacles.

"What?" she said sulkily.

"How are you, Myrtle?" said Hermione, trying for a cheerful voice. "It's nice to see you out of your toilet."

Myrtle sniffed.

"Miss Granger here was just talking about you…." said Peeves slyly in Myrtle's ear.

"Just saying….. saying…. how nice it is to see you." said Hermione, glaring at Peeves.

Myrtle eyed Hermione suspiciously.

"You're making fun of me," she said, silver tears welling rapidly in her small, see-through eyes.

"No, honestly, didn't I just say how nice it was to see Myrtle?" said Hermione, nudging Harry and Neville in the ribs.

"Oh, yes…"

"She did…"

"Don't lie to me," Myrtle gasped, tears now flooding down her face, while Peeves chuckled happily over her shoulder.

"Don't you think I don't know what people call me behind my back? Fat Myrtle! Ugly Myrtle! Miserable, moaning, moping Myrtle!"

"You've forgotten irritating and boring!" Peeves hissed in her ear.

Moaning Myrtle burst into anguished sobs and fled from the dungeon.

Peeves shot after her, pelting her with mouldy peanuts.

"Oh, dear," said Hermione sadly. "I really didn't want that to happen."

Sir Nicholas now drifted toward them through the crowd.

"Enjoying yourselves?"

"Oh, yes, it's quite interesting." Well they weren't lying about that part, anyway.

"Not a bad turnout, I'd say." said Sir Nicholas proudly. "You know the Wailing Widow came all the way up from Kent. . . . Oh, it's nearly time for my speech, I'd better go and warn the orchestra. . . ."

The orchestra, however, had already stopped playing. They, and everyone else in the dungeon, fell silent, looking around in excitement, as a hunting horn sounded.

"Oh, here we go," said Sir Nicholas bitterly.

Through the dungeon wall burst over a dozen ghost horses, each ridden by a headless horseman. The assembly clapped wildly. Harry started to clap politely, but stopped quickly at the sight of Sir Nicholas's face.

The horses galloped into the middle of the dance floor and halted, rearing and plunging and generally putting on a show. At the front of the pack was a large ghost who held his bearded head under his arm, from which position he was blowing the horn.

The ghost leapt down, lifted his head high in the air so he could see over the crowd (getting a laugh), and strode over to Sir Nicholas, planting his head back upon his neck.

"Nick!" he roared. "How are you? Head still hanging in there?"

He gave a hearty guffaw and clapped Sir Nicholas on the shoulder.

"Welcome, Patrick," said Sir Nicholas stiffly.

"Oh! Live 'uns!" said Sir Patrick, giving a big fake jump of astonishment as he spotted Harry and the others so that his head fell off again (that got another laugh).

"Very amusing," said Sir Nicholas darkly.

"Don't mind Nick!" shouted Sir Patrick's head from the floor. "Still upset we won't let him join the Hunt! But I mean to say, look at the fellow!"

"Well I think," said Harry hurriedly, at a pleading look from Sir Nicholas." Sir Nicholas is very frightening and…. Um….. "

"Ha!" yelled Sir Patrick's head. "Bet he asked you to say that!"

"If I could have everyone's attention, it's time for my speech!" said Sir Nicholas loudly, striding toward the podium and climbing into an icy blue spotlight.

"My late lamented lords, ladies, and gentlemen, it is my great sorrow . . ."

But nobody heard much more, because attention hogs apparently don't change their ways in death. Sir Patrick and the rest of the Headless Hunt had just started a game of Head Hockey and the other ghosts were turning to watch. Sir Nicholas tried vainly to recapture his audience, but gave up as Sir Patrick's head went sailing past him to loud cheers.

Harry was very cold by now, not to mention hungry.

"I can't stand much more of this," Susan muttered, her teeth chattering, as the orchestra ground back into action and the ghosts swept back onto the dance floor.

"OK. Let's go," Harry agreed.

They drifted towards the door, nodding and smiling at anyone who looked at them, and a minute later were hurrying back up the passageway full of black candles.


	6. Snakes and Bombshells

**Usual disclaimers, no rights to any characters portrayed and this is neither the real world nor a Disney Princess tale.**

And then Harry heard it.

". . . rip . . . tear . . . kill . . ."

It was the same voice, that same cold, vicious voice he had heard in Lockhart's office.

He stumbled to a halt, clutching at the stone wall, listening as hard as he could, looking around, squinting up and down the dimly lit passageway.

"Harry, what're you?..."

"It's that voice again, shut up a minute."

". . . soo hungry . . . for so long . . ."

"Listen!" said Harry urgently, and Hermione and the others froze, watching him. ". . . kill . . . time to kill . . ."

The voice was growing fainter. Harry was sure it was moving away, moving upward. A mixture of fear and excitement gripped him as he stared at the dark ceiling; how could it be moving upward? Was it a phantom, to whom stone ceilings didn't matter?

"This way," he shouted, and he ran, up the stairs and into the entrance hall. It was no good hoping to hear anything there, the noise from the Halloween feast was pouring out of the Great Hall, so Harry tore up the marble staircase to the first floor, the others clattering behind him.

"Harry, what're we…"

"SHH!"

Harry strained his ears. Distantly, from the floor above, and growing fainter still, he heard the voice. ". . . I smell blood. . . . I _smell blood_!"

His stomach lurched. "It's going to kill someone!" he shouted, and ignoring their bewildered looks, he tore up the next flight of steps again, trying to listen over the noise they were making.

Harry ran right around the second floor, the others panting along behind him, not stopping until they turned a corner into the last, deserted passage.

"Harry, what was that all about?" asked Neville, wiping sweat off his face. "I couldn't hear anything. . . ."

But Hermione gave a sudden gasp, pointing down the corridor. "Look!"

Something was shining on the wall ahead. They approached slowly, squinting through the darkness. Foot-high words had been daubed on the wall between two windows, shimmering in the light cast by the flaming torches. 'THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR BEWARE.'

"What's that thing…. underneath?" said Susan, a slight quiver in her voice.

As they edged nearer, Harry almost slipped - there was a large puddle of water on the floor; Remus and Hermione grabbed him, and they inched closer to the message, eyes fixed on a dark shadow beneath it. All three of them realised what it was at once, and leapt backward with a splash.. Mrs Norris, the caretaker's cat, was hanging from the torch bracket. She was stiff as a board, her eyes wide and staring.

For a few seconds, they didn't move. Then Remus said, "Let's get out of here."

"Shouldn't we tell..." Harry began to ask.

"Trust me Harry." Remus said. "You don't want to be found here."

They nodded and slipped into the entrance for Potter Tower.

Remus went back out to see what all the noise was soon after (they'd heard Malfoy gleefully shouting "Enemies of the heir beware? You'll be next Mudbloods!" though the door) and insisted on being told what they'd discovered to allow him to safeguard Lord Potter and the heirs of the Longbottom and Bones houses, not to mention Miss Patel and Granger and the Weasley boys. He didn't get much information other than that the cat was petrified, Dumbledore didn't know how to handle it and Snape was trying to blame them, even though they vocally opposed Slytherin's ideas.

When he got back, they sent Dommy for some food, and then they settled down to talk as they ate.

Harry opened with. "Do you think I should have told them about that voice I heard?"

"No." Hermione said without hesitation. "Hearing voices that no one else can hear isn't a good sign Harry, even in the wizarding world."

Harry looked at her. "You do believe me, don't you?"

"'Course I do," she said quickly. "But you must admit it's weird ...…

"I know it's weird," said Harry. "The whole thing's weird. What was that writing on the wall about? The Chamber Has Been Opened… What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know, that rings a sort of bell," said Remus slowly. "I think someone told me a story about a secret chamber at Hogwarts once . . . ."

That reminded Harry that he hadn't had a chance to ask Remus about this yet. "Did you hear the voice this time?"

Remus shook his head. "No, just that faint hissing and scraping sound again. I didn't smell anything this time but I think my nose was still recovering from the food at the deathday party."

Angela looked at Remus, amused. "You really can't remember who told the story about the Chamber Remus? You three obviously spent way too much time drinking, playing pranks and chasing girls! It was Binns in class! One of the snakes asked him... Let me see ... the Chamber of Secrets ... OK, this is what he told us."

"You all know, of course, that Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago - the precise date is uncertain - by the four greatest witches and wizards of the age. The four school Houses are named after them: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. They built this castle together, far from prying Muggle eyes, for it was an age when magic was feared by common people, and witches and wizards suffered much persecution."

"For a few years, the founders worked in harmony together, seeking out youngsters who showed signs of magic and bringing them to the castle to be educated. But then disagreements sprang up between them. A rift began to grow between Slytherin and the others. Slytherin wanted to be more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed that magical learning should be restricted to all-magic families. He didn't approve of taking students of Muggle parentage, believing them to be untrustworthy. After a while, there was a serious argument on the subject between Slytherin and Gryffindor, and Slytherin left the school."

"Reliable historical sources tell us this much, but these honest facts have been obscured by the fanciful legend of the Chamber of Secrets. The story goes that Slytherin had built a hidden chamber in the castle, of which the other founders knew nothing."

"Slytherin, according to the legend, sealed the Chamber of Secrets so that none would be able to open it until his own true heir arrived at the school. The heir alone would be able to unseal the Chamber of Secrets, unleash the horror within, and use it to purge the school of all who were unworthy to study magic."

"The whole thing is arrant nonsense, of course, naturally, the school has been searched for evidence of such a chamber, many times, by the most learned witches and wizards. It simply does not exist. It was just a tale told to frighten the gullible."

"He was asked about what the 'horror within the chamber' meant and his response was. That is believed to be some sort of monster, which the Heir of Slytherin alone can control."

"After that he insisted that the monster didn't exist and was getting worked up when he screamed. "There is no Chamber and no monster." Of course someone came back with."

"If the Chamber can only be opened by Slytherin's true heir, no one else would be able to find it, would they?"

"And that was the last we got out of him because he just started ranting."

Harry was looking at Remus with a worried expression, but it was Angela that he spoke to. "Angela, all jokes aside, how often have you known Remus to forget anything?"

Angela froze then. Turning to Harry she almost whispered. "Never!"

He nodded grimly. "Remus, are you willing to let Angela probe you?"

Remus hesitated, which worried and confused them until he spoke softly to her. "Angela, there are images that you may find in there that have you in them, I apologise if you find anything that might offend you but I won't say that I regret thinking them."

She looked him in the eye, kissed him and asked. "Ready?"

When he nodded she dove in, but when she came out Harry and the other students expanded their vocabulary. Once she'd calmed down she explained.

"There is considerable memory tampering in there, but nothing since before Lily and James were killed. What's more, I'd be willing to swear an oath to the fact that Remus, Arthur, Professor McGonagall and Hagrid have all had their memories tampered with by the same wizard."

When the others looked at her questioningly at that, she went on. "The magic of a given witch or wizard has a signature. The first time you see a witch or wizard's magic, there is no way to identify it. The second, things start to become familiar, and from the third time the signs become ever clearer if you know what you're looking for, which I do. I'll bet whatever I have in my vault at Gringotts that the memory tampering that's been done to all four has been done by the same wizard."

Remus looked at her. "Wizard?"

"Remus, you know as well as I do that there is only one person who is connected to the four of you and has that level of skill, are you still questioning that he'd do this?"

He shook his head sadly. "No, I accept the fact but wish that it wasn't so."

He squared his shoulders and asked Harry and the other students to stay in Potter Tower while he and Angela went to examine the area where they found the writing and Mrs Norris. When Harry asked why only he and Angela were going, he pointed out that the students didn't need any more trouble from Dumbledore and Snape, but those two couldn't do anything to him or Angela. Harry nodded at that and Remus and Angela headed out with a couple of the goblin guards.

* * *

Just after they left, Tally popped in and went to George, frantic. "Mister George, Miss Ginny's friend Miss Luna is hiding in one of the side corridors, she is crying."

George looked at Fred and stood up. "Can you take me to her please Tally?"

She said "Yes Mister George." as she reached for his hand and then they were gone.

Five minutes later, they were back, with a tearful Luna Lovegood in hand. When Luna had told her story and the girls had taken her off for a bath and some clean clothes (she had had no socks or underwear and only left shoes for a week and a half, and had become afraid to leave her clothes out of the shower when she was washing herself because she'd had to try and find something to cover herself so that she didn't have to run naked back to her dorm room more than once), Fred, George and Padma were about to go on a rampage. Fred and George because she was like a little sister to them and Padma because she was sure that she knew who the bitches who'd done this to Luna were.

Remus and Angela came back to their raging and had a hard time calming them down enough to get the story out of them. When they did, Angela made them all sit down and shut up while she questioned Padma about the girls who she believed had done this. She wasn't surprised to hear that they were all from powerful pureblood families. When she pointed out that going after those girls would just make things harder for Luna, Harry interrupted and asked Dommy to go and fetch Luna's father. He told him to tell her father that she was OK but something had happened.

The others looked at him, waiting for him to explain and he shrugged. "If she goes back to Ravenclaw Tower this will either continue as it has or get worse. I'm going to ask her father to sign the agreement for Luna to change to the Potter Tutors and move her in here with the rest of us. I expect that Hogwarts will create a room for her when he signs, if not we'll make one available for her."

Most of them had tears in their eyes at that and Hermione rushed over to hug him. Angela kissed him on the cheek with a smile, as it was never more obvious that he was her best friend's son than when he did things like this, Lily would have been so proud of him. She thought back to the day that she was approached to leave her career as a rising star in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and take on the role of helping teach and protect Lily's child, it had taken her less than a minute to accept.

She stopped to think then, and realised that he could do more to protect Luna if she and her father were willing, and as she looked around the room, thought that that could apply to most of the others here as well. When Hermione went to see how Luna was doing, Angela knelt beside Harry and whispered in his ear for five minutes, she was not at all surprised that he immediately agreed to what she proposed.

When Xenophilius Lovegood arrived, the girls went to get Luna dressed while Angela filled her father in on what had been happening to his daughter and Harry made his offer to get Luna out of the situation she was in. The fact that Harry wouldn't allow Xenophilius to sign the agreement until Luna agreed as well brought another tear to Angela's eye.

When Luna came out, she spent ten minutes crying in her father's arms, but she agreed without hesitating when she was asked whether she wanted to join the Potter group and move into the tower. As Harry thought, as soon as Xenophilius signed the agreement, Hogwarts magically created a room for Luna.

With that done, Angela spoke up. "Xenophilius Lovegood, Luna Lovegood, are you prepared to swear homage to Lord Potter and give him your oath of fealty?"

Xenophilius just looked confused but it was obvious that Luna worked out what was going on, clever little witch that she was. "Say _Yes_ father, this will make us a vassal of one of the most powerful of the Noble and Most Ancient Houses, it will give us the protection of House Potter. Otherwise we're at the mercy of any house that chooses to attack us, and most of those girls were part of houses that are far more powerful than the Lovegood family. Please say yes."

His expression cleared at that and he kissed her on the forehead, nodding his thanks to Harry as he went down on his knee to swear homage and the formal oath of Fealty. When Harry made the formal response, they both felt it when Xenophilius and the Lovegood family was magically bonded to House Potter as vassals. The protection over the Lovegood family of course included Luna, but Angela had also pointed out the specific protections that Luna would accrue from an individually swearing homage and fealty to Harry, and he wanted her to have them, so Luna then did so and he gave the requisite response. Once again, they both felt it when the magical bond was made.

With that, Angela spoke up again, talking to the others in the room. "Swearing homage and the oath of fealty can be rescinded with agreement from both parties and most of you would do well to consider becoming vassals to House Potter as well." That got their attention and she went on. "Neville, as the heir of the Noble and Ancient House of Longbottom, it would not be appropriate for you to swear homage and fealty to House Potter, nor would it be for you as the heir of the Noble and Ancient House of Bones, Susan. Padma, your family may be powerful, but not in Britain, so becoming a vassal to House Potter will protect you much more here. Hermione, as a muggleborn, you have very few rights in magical Britain, I would strongly advise you to consider doing so to gain House Potter's protection, I believe that you should also talk to your parents about doing the same."

"Fred, George, Weasley is an old but not powerful family, I would advise you to strongly consider swearing homage and fealty to House Potter, I plan on suggesting the same to your father and Bill. Remus, your family is not powerful and your status as a werewolf puts you in danger with the current Ministry, I strongly advise that you pledge to Harry. In case you are wondering about me, my house is not as powerful as House Potter so I fully intend to pledge to Harry."

She looked at Rackclaw and the other goblin guards. "I am unsure of the whether swearing homage and fealty to House Potter would clash with your goblin oaths, but if not, it could well be a benefit to you in Magical Britain to have the protection of House Potter as well due to the goblins' status with the current Ministry." Rackclaw nodded to indicate that he would discuss the matter with his superiors.

Silence descended on the room until Harry spoke. "While the others are thinking Angela, perhaps we could proceed with your oath. Before that though, Tally, please go to Luna's dorm room and bring her things back to her room here."

Before Tally could pop out, Angela blurted out "Wait! Tally, can you also find the rest of Miss Luna's things and bring them back please, but we will want a list of exactly where you found each item."

Tally nodded. "Yes Master Harry. Yes Miss Angela." and popped out.

When Harry looked at her with a raised eyebrow she explained. "We will be presenting that list to Professor Flitwick as evidence of why Luna has moved out of the Ravenclaw Tower when we give him the signed agreement for her to move to Potter Tower." She paused before she added musingly. "With his mixed race, Professor Flitwick could well benefit from being under the protection of House Potter as well because this will get ugly and he can't rely on Dumbledore."

Harry snorted. "House Potter seems to be getting a lot bigger all of a sudden."

Angela smiled and went down on her knee to swear homage and fealty. The others quickly followed suit, until only Padma was left (aside from Neville and Susan, of course). Padma hesitated and then said that she had to tell Harry something before she proceeded. "My father has submitted a betrothal contract for either or both of Pavati and myself to House Potter, and he has been pressuring me to do whatever it takes to ensure that I get Harry to accept that betrothal contract. That was why he agreed for me to go to the Continent for your birthday, in hope that I would get closer to you. I do not believe that you view me that way Harry, and to tell you the truth while I care for you a great deal as a friend, I don't look at you like that either. If you are OK with that, I will gladly swear homage and fealty to you."

Harry looked at her. "When you say whatever it takes, what do you mean?"

" _Whatever_ it takes, my mother and other women in the family gave me lessons in how to make you want to, but…."

She broke down at that and they felt the magic radiating off Harry as he raged at what her family had done to her.

Angela spoke sharply to get through his rage. "Take her oath! As your vassal, that will stop her being contracted to anyone else without your approval and as the greater house, once House Potter formally accepts the betrothal contract for consideration, it cannot be withdrawn and no other contracts can be entered into until we reject it, which we won't!"

Harry took a few breaths to calm down and then reached out to gently pull Padma forward, to get her to kneel for the oath. When they felt the magical bond as it was completed, they both breathed a sigh of relief and Harry pulled her up to hug her.

While he was holding Padma, he looked at Angela. "How do we go about accepting the betrothal contract for consideration?"

"You or your regent need to go to Gringotts and look through the betrothal contracts, I can guarantee that there will be more than one there. When you find the Patil contract, there is a required process to accept it for consideration without agreeing to the betrothal."

Harry growled. "I don't have enough time to learn everything I need to know in this world, I wish I had a regent to do all of this for me….."

He stopped and looked at Angela. "Angela Fawley, will you accept the role and all responsibilities of Regent for the House of Potter?"

She snorted. "That's not the proper format Harry, good thing too, otherwise that would have been a binding offer. This isn't something you should play around with Harry, don't you know how powerful the House of Potter is?"

She might have thought he was joking but Hermione could see from the look on his face that he was deadly serious. "I'm learning, but it will be a long time before I know anywhere near as much as you. What is the proper format to formally offer you the role of Regent of House Potter then Angela?"

Angela took in his expression this time and asked "Are you sure?"

Harry nodded. "You and Remus have watched over me ever since I came into this world, I trust you in everything. It was you who pointed out why Remus's problem would cause issues for him, and you are our expert in all noble house and Wizengamot matters. I think Remus would agree that you're better suited for this?"

He looked at Remus and Remus nodded. "Definitely!"

Angela thought for a moment and then squared her shoulders, giving him the proper format to offer her the regency. Neville stopped them at that point and noted that there would be less grounds to question this if it were witnessed by the distinguished regents of two other Noble and Ancient Houses. When they agreed, Tally and Dommy were sent off to get Neville's Gran and Madam Bones and the offer was formally made and accepted in their presence. All parties signed in blood and with that Angela became the Regent of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter.

While they were there Neville and Susan discussed Angela's advice to them, they thanked her for giving their wards such appropriate advice and not taking advantage of their ignorance. Then Amelia pulled Augusta aside for a quiet discussion, when Augusta nodded, Amelia turned to Harry, Neville and Susan. "While the Potter Regent was correct in saying that it would not have been appropriate for the heirs of the houses of Longbottom and Bones to make these pledges to House Potter, the Longbottom Regent and I believe that it would be beneficial to all three houses if the houses of Potter, Longbottom and Bones were formally aligned. How say you all?"

When Harry looked at Angela, she could see that the heirs all agreed so she said. "The form required is that you bow and say 'House Potter pledges to align itself to House Longbottom and House Bones' and then Neville and Susan do the same for their houses."

When all three of them had made the pledge, they and their regents felt the magical acceptance of the alignment, and with that they became a powerful alliance in the Wizengamot. By then, Tally had returned with all of Luna's things and the list of where she found them and Angela sent her to ask Professor Flitwick if he'd come with her as there were serious matters to be discussed in regard to members of Ravenclaw.

* * *

When Professor Flitwick arrived, Xenophilius handed him the signed agreement for Luna to change to the Potter tutor sessions and also move into Potter Tower. Then he explained what had been happening to Luna and handed over the list of in who's possession all of her things had been found. Filius was horrified that this had been going on in his house and pledged to do something about it, but they could see that he was worried about going up against some of the families on that list, especially as he knew that he would not be able to rely on any support from Dumbledore when the girls' fathers struck out.

Angela gave him a minute to consider that and then informed him of the pledges that had been taken by House Potter that day, and of the formal alignment between the houses of Potter, Longbottom and Bones. Filius understood how much power was held by an alliance of three houses like this, but couldn't see why she was bringing this up until she asked him whether he would have an interest in becoming a vassal of House Potter. _Then_ it all fell into place for him, and the only concern he had was whether this would be in conflict with his obligations to Hogwarts. He thought over it for five to ten minutes but in the end decided that it wasn't.

He knew Hogwarts' Headmaster would make no attempt to protect him from the irate fathers of the perpetrators of the harassment of Luna Lovegood, but House Potter would, and he also knew Harry Potter was not interested in using this to his advantage, in fact he'd offered to bring in examiners from the Wizarding Examinations Authority for any tests if required to ensure that there was no conflict of interest. With that he knelt and became another vassal of House Potter. As soon as he returned to his office he sent letters to parents of each of the girls and then the dragon dung really started flying.

When presented with the demands from the girls' fathers, Dumbledore ordered Professor Flitwick to drop the charges and make a public apology to every one of the girls. Of course, when Filius refused he told him he was fired and was shocked when Filius stood firm on his right to demand to take the matter to the Hogwarts board.

Dumbledore only began to realise what he was up against when he saw Angela taking her seat on the board as the Potter Regent and formally advising the board that as soon as this matter was dealt with she would be raising the matter of the unauthorised and illegal usage of the House Potter voting rights by the Headmaster. The fact that the Longbottom and Bones Regents also took their seats and advised that they would be voting with House Potter made Dumbledore sweat, because he knew that the voting rights of these three houses could just about carry the vote by themselves and he could already see the others rushing to get on their good side.

The fathers of the girls named in Luna's harassment not only failed to get Professor Flitwick fired, the vote was pushed through the board that they each had to pay the Lovegood family three thousand galleons in compensation for Luna's humiliation and the insult to her family's honour, so the Luna gained over fifty thousand galleons from that ruling, which her father was holding for her in trust. Their arguments that they didn't have the money available were quickly dropped when a further proposal to expel their daughters and use their remaining school fees to pay the fines was pushed through.

Attempts to push the blame onto Professor Flitwick for not monitoring what had happened also failed spectacularly when Angela, Amelia and Augusta pointed out that they were suggesting that a mature wizard go poking about in their daughters' bed chambers and bathrooms at any time, and asked the other fathers whether they were prepared to accept this? Those fathers turned on the ones arguing that this was what Flitwick should have been doing and made it quite clear what would happen if anything like this was ever suggested again. The heads of the noble houses who had ruled the roost here and in the Wizengamot for over ten years were starting to sweat now, because it was obvious that these three witches didn't take prisoners.

* * *

Dumbledore was the one who was really panicking though, as he'd walked in there confident of firing a professor who'd had the nerve to defy him, only to crawl out with Flitwick having the full confidence of the board and the Potter Regent now overseeing everything he did as the board's representative who was resident at Hogwarts. Hogwarts had even given her access to the Headmaster's office. He was also being required to produce supporting evidence to justify every action he'd taken and every knut spent since October 31st, 1981 as he'd been using the Potter votes to push things through ever since then. There was no way that he could produce anything to justify most of what he'd done or spent, so he was in serious trouble.

If that wasn't bad enough, when he returned to his office from the board meeting, the pensieve (one of only two in Britain and rather better than the Ministry's one) and all of the other marvellous treasures that he'd had on loan from Nicholas Flamel until they were bequeathed to him with Nicholas's estate were gone. In their place was an official notification from Gringotts to say that the beneficiary of Nicholas Flamel's estate had required that the items bequeathed to him be recovered. This hit Dumbledore on three fronts, first and most important, _he_ was supposed to be the beneficiary of Nicholas's fabulous fortune! Second, the items that he'd had in his possession for decades were worth a king's ransom, especially that pensieve, and he regarded them as _his_. Third, all of the stored memories had been taken with the pensieve and the document stated that any that were not Mr Flamel's would be returned once the pensieve's rightful owner had had time to review them all. This terrified Dumbledore, as many of those memories were incredibly incriminating. Compared to the first three, his concerns about the fact that he'd been depending on the Flamel fortune to repay what he'd spent and how in Merlin's name the goblins had gotten into his office to reclaim these items were minor issues, the portraits could have answered that last but weren't inclined to tell him who took them unless asked because they didn't approve of what he was doing to Hogwarts.

Dumbledore ignored his Hogwarts duties (yet again) and immediately rushed off to Gringotts to demand the return of his treasures and to see this new will. They showed him the will, with a charm to ensure that the name of the beneficiary could not be read, and told him that it had been tested and accepted by all the relevant human and goblin authorities as valid and incontestable. The official assigned to deal with him laughed at him when he tried to use his positions as the Chief Wizard of Britain's Winzengamot and Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards to demand to know who the new beneficiary was, and when he tried to snatch the will and take it when he left, Dumbledore found himself pinned to the desk with a very wicked looking blade to his throat. He was then carried out, screaming threats the whole way and as the final indignity, he was literally thrown out the front door. This act was captured by The Quibbler's photographer, who had been waiting for that very moment.

* * *

While Dumbledore was doing this, Potter Tower was entertaining Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout, as they were having a discussion about the possibility of becoming vassals of House Potter and thereby coming under the same protection as Professor Flitwick. Both of them had been becoming increasingly concerned about what was happening at Hogwarts ever since Dumbledore had brought Severus Snape onto the staff in 1981 and they'd watched him run run rampant through the school ever since. They had previously been afraid to oppose Dumbledore when he'd supported Snape against the rest of the staff and student body, no matter how inappropriate his actions against students or staff, because he was very powerful and they had no-one to protect them.

The Deputy Headmistress and two heads of house were now hoping that they might also be accepted as vassals of House Potter so that they could rely on a similar level of protection as Minerva had just observed Filius receiving in the board meeting when they were acting in the students' best interests. They were hoping that with the Deputy Headmistress and three heads of school houses having the backing of Houses of Potter, Longbottom and Bones and the Potter Regent having oversight of the Headmaster, they may be able to save Hogwarts.

Harry had no trouble agreeing with this, though he did advise them that the majority of his goblin guards were also vassals of House Potter before they swore homage and fealty so that they were forewarned in case they had an issue with this. Neither of them turned a hair at that and took a knee to swear homage and fealty.

They had to laugh, because in less than a week, House Potter had gone from one, Lord Potter, to nearly a hundred, and the majority of the potter vassals were goblins. Arthur Weasley had agreed with Angela and swore homage and fealty to House Potter for himself and the Weasley Family as soon as possible, and Bill and probably Charlie as well would be doing so the next time they were in Britain. They had also brought Dan and Jean to Hogwarts to swear homage and fealty, so they were now officially squibs who were under the protection of a powerful house.

There was another matter that Angela had to discuss with Arthur, because when she went through the betrothal contracts to accept Padma's for consideration, she'd found one for Ginny from the head of House Weasley. Arthur was furious about that, because he knew that Molly must have gone to his great uncle who was still head of the Weasley family back then behind his back to arrange this, but she hadn't said a word to him. Angela gave him the same explanation as she had for Padma's contract and Arthur all but begged her to do the same for Ginny's contract.

* * *

With the political matters being dealt with for now, they went back to the issue of the Chamber of Secrets. Remus and Angela said that the only thing of note that they'd found when they went back to look the site over again was the spiders, they'd seen hundreds of spiders trying to get out of the castle. They didn't know what it meant, but it was too bizarre not to be significant. They sat down to discuss what they knew, starting with what had been written on the wall THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR BEWARE.

"Who can it be, though?" Hermione asked musingly. "Who'd want to frighten all the Muggleborns out of Hogwarts?"

"Let me think." asked Harry sarcastically. "Who do we know who thinks Muggleborns are scum?"

He looked at Hermione. She looked back, unconvinced. "Malfoy?"

"You heard him when he was shouting….. 'You'll be next, Mudbloods!' He thought all his Christmases had come at once."

"But Malfoy, the Heir of Slytherin?" said Hermione sceptically.

"Look at his family," said Harry, closing his books, too. "The whole lot of them have been in Slytherin; he's always boasting about that. They could easily be Slytherin's descendants. His father's definitely evil enough."

"They could've had the key to the Chamber of Secrets for centuries." Neville added. "Handing it down, father to son ..."

"Well," said Hermione cautiously, "I suppose it's possible ..."

"But how do we prove it?" Harry asked.

"There might be a way, of course, it would be difficult. And dangerous, very dangerous. We'd be breaking about fifty school rules, I expect….."

Harry's face when he said. "Yes?" was frustrated.

"Alright, what we'd need to do is to get inside the Slytherin common room and ask Malfoy a few questions without him realising it's us."

"But that's impossible, the cloak of invisibility could get us in there but if we used that we couldn't ask questions."

"No, it's not impossible." said Hermione. "All we'd need would be some Polyjuice Potion."

"What's that?" Harry and Neville asked together.

"I read about it a few weeks ago…. It transforms you into somebody else. Think about it! We could change into some of the Slytherins. No one would know it was us. Malfoy would probably tell us anything. He's probably boasting about it in the Slytherin common room right now, if only we could hear him."

Neville looked worried. "What do we know about this Polyjuice potion? Does it need another potion to change back or what?"

"It wears off after a while," said Hermione, waving the objection away. "But getting hold of the recipe will be difficult. It's in a book called Moste Potente Potions and that's probably in the Restricted Section of the library."

Remus laughed then. "While it's a delight to see you proposing something wild and crazy for once Hermione, there's a much better way to do this."

Angela looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

When Remus said. "Sirius's second cousin!" Angela's grin matched his.

When Hermione and everyone else showed that they weren't amused, being out of the loop, Remus explained. "Sirius's cousin Andromeda Black was banished from House Black because she married a muggleborn wizard. Her daughter, Nymphadora, is a metamorphmagus, she can change into anyone, so it will be much safer to have her impersonating the Slytherins than try polyjuice potions…."

He stopped and turned to Hermione. "I admire your thinking Hermione but it is quite easy for polyjuice potions to go wrong, I remember one time someone took some hairs from the robes of the person they wanted to impersonate, but the hairs they got were actually her cat's hairs, not her's. Needless to say the young lady who took the polyjuice potion had an unpleasant experience without achieving anything, she ended up covered in hair and it took weeks for her to recover."

He went back to talking to everyone. "Tonks is currently an Auror in training….." He saw the confused looks and explained. "She positively hates her first name and she's known to get quite aggressive when anyone uses it… Anyway, I was thinking that Susan and I could go and have a talk to her dear old Auntie Ami…." Everyone burst out laughing, but Susan's laugh had an edge to it. "What were you saying about names? I can't wait until my Aunt hears 'Dear Old Auntie Ami' I'm sure she'll find it hilarious."

Angela laughed again. "Point to Susan! I think it might be better if I talked to Madam Bones about this…. Tally, could you locate Madam Bones for me and ask if she can spare me ten minutes please."

Tally nodded and with a. "Yes Miss Angela." she was gone. They had to laugh, because thirty seconds later Tally reappeared with the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

Angela apologised but Amelia laughed, saying that she was just glad that she was dressed when Tally popped in, otherwise she might have put on a show. She was surprised when Susan threw her arms around her neck and kissed her on the cheek with an exuberant "Dear Old Auntie Ami!" but when she saw how quickly Remus disappeared she knew that this was something to do with him.

Amelia loved the idea of having Tonks using her talent to impersonate students and gather information, and it occurred to her that she could kill two birds with one stone, because with a charm to guard her against whatever compulsion charm Lockhart was using, she might be able to get more information out of him than the rest of the investigation was yielding. She arranged for a time for Tally to pop into her office and collect Tonks, they had a spare room in their tower so she could stay there out of sight. With that organised, Amelia wanted to know about this Chamber of Secrets and Heir of Slytherin business. Angela kicked herself because she should have realised that Dumbledore wouldn't have reported it.

The two of them stormed off to Dumbledore's office and tore into him. When she discovered that as well as failing to report something as serious as this to the authorities, he hadn't done a thing to look into it, he was so shaken that he let slip that the Chamber of Secrets had actually been opened fifty years before. He was stupid enough to believe that he could trick Madam Bones into getting him the pensieve and the stored memories back and clumsily tried to use that to get her to help him. She just kept her Madam Bones face on and left him with dire threats if a single student was harmed because of his failings.

As soon as they were back in Potter Tower, Amelia turned to Harry to ask where the pensieve and memories were, because they had a lead on the previous time the Chamber was opened. Harry told her that it was in a room off the Potter family library and arranged a time for Dommy to take her to Potter Manor. Amelia's final words before Dommy took her back home was that Tonks would be bringing Angela's Senior Auror's badge with her, because she was being reinstated while this was going on at least as a special Auror reporting to the Director of the DMLE.

* * *

That night, they heard a lot of running in the halls and whispers of a student in Healer's rooms. Harry and Angela got Dommy to take them to Professor McGonagall's office and got the story. Colin Creevy had been petrified, apparently while he was trying to take a picture. They'd checked the camera, but the film was totally burnt. Dumbledore was apparently shaken and said that this confirmed that the Chamber had been opened again. Dommy checked that the corridor where Colin was petrified was empty and then took them there. There was no sign of anything there, but Harry transformed into his wolf animagus and picked up the trace of a smell like Remus had mentioned. When he changed back, Angela pointed out something near the window, once again there was a mass exodus of spiders, as Remus had said, this was too strange not to be significant somehow.

When an elf popped up beside them without warning, he was almost blasted into oblivion before Harry stopped Angela's wand.

"What are you doing here Dobby?"

"Dobby is trying to get Harry Potter to leave Hogwarts before something terrible happens, this was what Dobby tried to warn Harry Potter of before but he would not listen. Will Harry Potter listen to Dobby now and leave Hogwarts?"

"I told you Dobby, I can't leave, I have too much to do. Anyway I should be safe, they're supposedly only after muggleborns and I'm not muggleborn."

"Oh, if Harry Potter only knew!" Dobby sobbed, tears falling onto his ragged pillowcase. "If he knew what he means to us, to the lowly, the enslaved, we dregs of the magical world! Dobby remembers how it was when He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was at the height of his powers, sir! House elves were treated like vermin! Of course, Dobby is still treated like vermin, sir." he admitted, wiping his face on the pillowcase.

"But for most of us, life is better for my kind since you triumphed over He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Harry Potter survived, and the Dark Lord's power was broken, and it was a new dawn, sir, and Harry Potter gave hope for those of us who thought the Dark days would never end ... And now, at Hogwarts, terrible things are about to happen, they are happening already, and Dobby cannot let Harry Potter stay here now that history will repeat itself, now that the Chamber of Secrets is open once more."

Dobby froze in horror, then conjured the beater's bat again and cracked it over his own head, toppling. A second later, he crawled to his feet, dazed and muttering, "Bad Dobby, very bad Dobby. . ."

"So there _is_ a Chamber of Secrets?" Harry whispered. "And did you say it's been opened before? Tell me, Dobby!"

He grabbed the elf's wrist as Dobby's hand went for the beater's bat. "But I'm not muggleborn, so why would I be in danger from the Chamber?"

"Oh, sir, don't ask, don't ask any more of poor Dobby," stammered the elf, his eyes huge in the dark. "Dark deeds are planned in this place, but Harry Potter must not be here when they happen. Go home, Harry Potter, please go home. Harry Potter must not meddle in this, sir, 'tis too dangerous…"

"Who opened it Dobby?" Harry said, holding onto Dobby's wrist to stop him from hitting himself with the bat again. "Who's opened it? Who opened it last time?"

"Dobby can't, sir, Dobby can't, Dobby mustn't tell!" squealed the elf.

"Go home, Harry Potter, go home!"

"I'm not going anywhere!" said Harry fiercely. "My best friend is Muggleborn. She'll be first in line if the Chamber really has been opened."

"Harry Potter risks his own life for his friends!" moaned Dobby in a kind of miserable awe. "So noble! So brave! But he must save himself, he must, Harry Potter must not…."

Dobby suddenly froze, his ears quivering. Harry heard it, too.

There were footsteps coming down the passageway.

"Dobby must go!" breathed the elf, terrified. There was a pop, and Harry's fist was suddenly clenched on thin air.

They quickly told Dommy to get them out of there and he popped them back to their tower.

Back in the tower, they talked over the second strange discussion with Dobby the house elf. Things were no clearer but at least he'd confirmed that the Chamber of Secrets was open _again_ , which meant that it had been opened before.

* * *

The next morning, at breakfast in the Great Hall, Dumbledore said that two of the professors were putting on extra classes in duelling skills so that the students could protect themselves. Harry saw him look their way when he said that this course was compulsory. He should have picked up on Professor Flitwick's angry expression, but he didn't consider that when they had an ex European Duelling Champion on the staff that he wouldn't be the one running this.

Of course the story was out that Colin had been attacked and killed the night before and everyone was panicking. For some reason Ginny was crying. They couldn't work that out, because from what they'd heard, she didn't really like him much but she was crying as if she'd lost her boyfriend.

He realised his mistake about the duelling classes when the ever flamboyant Lockhart strutted onto the stage, followed by a sombre black clad Snape. Lockhart waved an arm for silence and called out. "Gather round, gather round! Can everyone see me? Can you all hear me? Excellent! Now, Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little duelling class, to train you all in case you ever need to defend yourselves as I myself have done on countless occasions - for full details, see my published works. Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape," said Lockhart, flashing a wide smile.

"He tells me he knows a tiny little bit about duelling himself and has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration before we begin. Now, I don't want any of you youngsters to worry, you'll still have your Potions master when I'm through with him, never fear!"

Lockhart and Snape turned to face each other and bowed, well Lockhart did, swirling his cape, whereas Snape just jerked his head at Lockhart irritably. Then they raised their wands like fencing swords in front of them.

"As you see, we are holding our wands in the accepted combative position," Lockhart told the silent crowd. "On the count of three, we will cast our first spells. Neither of us will be aiming to kill, of course."

Both of them swung their wands above their heads and pointed them at their opponent. Snape cried. "Expelliarmus!" and Lockhart was blasted off his feet in a flash of scarlet light. He was thrown off the stage and smashed into the wall, ending up sprawled on the floor.

He climbed painfully to his feet but still tried to bluff it out, saying that he could have stopped that easily but he'd just played along.

As he was quite tender by then, he readily agreed to Snape's suggestion that they start pairing the students off. Harry grabbed Neville and Hermione grabbed Susan and they ran through the drills they could do in their sleep. Harry could see Snape watching them with rather more interest than he was happy with, and his concern was proved valid when Snape had a few words in Lockhart's ear and then Lockhart called for a demonstration. Snape immediately jumped in and said that the two best were Potter and Malfoy so it should be them.

After a few minutes of utterly wrong and useless instruction from Lockhart while he watched Snape whispering in Malfoy's ear, they were up on the platform and squaring off against each other. Harry wasn't surprised when Malfoy didn't wait for the count to finish, but he was surprised by the "Serpensortia!" spell he called out, as he didn't know what it was until a large black snake flew down the platform and landed heavily in front of him, obviously worked up as it raised itself up to strike.

Harry wondered how much was safe to show in front of the others, so he held off as long as the snake stayed far enough away. You could hear the sneer in Snape's voice as he drawled. "Don't worry Potter, I'll get rid of it….." It was obvious that he was in no hurry to do anything, he was probably hoping that Harry would wet himself in front of the other students.

Suddenly Lockhart cried out "I'll get it!" and flamboyantly threw a spell at the snake, but instead of destroying the snake he just blew it off the stage so that it landed in front of Justin Finch-Fletchley, angry and ready to strike. Just before it did, Harry shouted "Get away from him!" and for some reason the snake stopped and turned to look at him, giving Snape a chance to destroy it.

Whatever reaction Harry was expecting, it wasn't a furious Justin shouting "What the hell are you playing at?" at him before running out of the room. When he looked around the room, everyone was staring at him, terrified, and Snape's contemplative look creeped him out. Harry just walked out at that and the others followed him back to the tower.

In the tower, they were all quiet and eventually he shouted "What? Why are you all staring at me like that? Why did that ungrateful git shout at me after I shouted at the snake to get away from him?"

Hermione obviously didn't know what to say. "Oh, that's what you said?"

"Of course it was! You were right there, you heard me!"

"What what I and everyone else heard Harry was you talking in Parselmouth…." At his confused look she clarified. "Snake language, you hissed at the snake Harry."

"How could I have been speaking in snake without knowing I was doing it? Never mind, I expect lots of people can do that!"

"No Harry, it's an extremely rare talent, and that was why people were looking at you, that and the fact that the most famous Parselmouth was Salazar Slytherin."

Neville piped up then. "It did sort of look and sound like you were siccing the snake on Justin Harry, I expect that's why he reacted the way he did."

Harry slumped back in the seat. "Oh Merlin! They're all be going on about me being the Heir of Slytherin now!"

"I'm afraid so." Hermione went to hug him but Harry jumped up and hurried out of the tower. He knew that at the very least he'd have Tally or Dommy following him to keep an eye on him and he probably had Remus and the goblin guards being hopped along so that he wasn't alone, but he didn't want to talk to anyone at the moment.

He was actually so distracted that he turned a corner and ran straight into Hagrid. The fact that the hand in front of his face when Hagrid grabbed him to stop him falling had a dead rooster in it begged a question. "Hagrid, why are you carrying a dead rooster around?"

"Gotta talk to Professor Dumbledore about it, it's the second one that's bin killed since this year started and I've gotta get permission to put charms around the chicken coop."

He peered more closely at Harry. "Are ya sure you're all roit Harry? Ya look right bothered, ya do..."

Harry wasn't up to discussing what had happened so he shook it off. "Yeah, I'm OK….. Well good luck Hagrid, I better get going to grab my books and get to class."

He only got a few more turns before he ran into someone else, but this time they were on the floor, petrified, and he tripped over them. The strangest thing was that Sir Nicholas was floating about with no control with a shocked look on his face as well. Harry knew that he couldn't be found here alone with the boy everyone thought he'd sicced the snake on, so he called for Dommy and told him to get him to the tower _now_.


	7. Secrets and Lies

**Have to wonder about the editors on the early HP books. We were told that the basilisk was using the pipes to get around, then we were told that it was 'thick as an oak trunk'. How many pipes in a castle would be big enough to allow something that thick to pass through them? Not many I'd bet. For that matter, they describe the pipe from the bathroom as 'big enough for a man to fit through', so just how did the basilisk get into Hogwarts?  
**

 **Usual disclaimers, no rights to any characters portrayed and this is neither the real world nor a Disney Princess tale.**

When he suddenly popped up, white as a ghost, everyone dropped what they were doing and asked what had happened. The others didn't look much better than him when he told them that he'd just tripped over Justin Finch-Fletchley and he was petrified like Colin and the cat. Adding in the fact that Sir Nicholas appeared to be the ghost equivalent of petrified as well didn't make the news any easier to take.

While he wished that he could give them time to deal with this, especially Harry, Remus knew that they had to appear to be behaving like everyone else, and he and Angela needed to look over the scene of the crime, as it were, so he hustled them out the door to get them to class. As chance would have it Justin's petrified form was on their way to transfiguration and they got there just as the crowd started to gather, this gave Remus a chance to look around, but Justin's friends started shouting that Harry did it.

When one of them shouted that he said that he'd get the muggleborn, Hermione cut across his tirade. "You really are an idiot, you know? For a start, Harry's Mum was muggleborn, I'm muggleborn and Susan and Remus's Mums were both muggleborns, so only an idiot would think that Harry has anything against muggleborns. More to the point, _he_ was the one who said that the muggleborns were going to get it!" With that she pointed at Draco Malfoy, who was standing there gloating with his goons behind him.

That turned everyone's attention on Malfoy, as they realised that she was right, and that made them remember the fact that he was also the one who'd cast the snake that went after Justin as well. Suddenly being the centre of the hostile attention made Malfoy bolt, with his goons lumbering along behind him, which only helped cement the idea in everyone's minds that he had something to do with this.

While that helped avert the students' suspicions from Harry, Hagrid's misguided attempt to help made Dumbledore look at Harry.

Hagrid ran up to the Headmaster with a wild look in his eyes and the dead rooster still swinging from his hand.

"It weren't Harry Professor Dumbledore!" Hagrid shouted. "I was talkin' ter him seconds before that kid were found, he never had time, sir….."

Dumbledore tried to say something, but Hagrid kept ranting on, waving the rooster around in his agitation and sending feathers flying everywhere.

"It can't've bin him, I'll swear it in front o' the Ministry o' Magic if I have to…."

Dumbledore eventually calmed him down and sent him away, but sent for Harry as soon as he got back to his office. When the note arrived in Professor McGonagall's class, Angela told her that she'd take Harry, telling Rackclaw to stay with the others and calling Tally to send Krogar to meet them at the Headmaster's office. When they arrived, the office was empty and Angela smirked, the old fool was obviously trying to show Harry who was boss by making them wait in an empty office, but two could play at his game.

She waved for Harry to have a look around while she went to sit in Dumbledore's chair, which was wasn't that much less imposing than that throne that he sat on in the Great Hall…. She stopped and made a mental note to confirm that these fripperies had all been paid for out of Hogwarts funds and then sell off the more extravagant pieces to put some money back into Hogwarts' coffers.

Thrones, desks inlaid with semi-precious stones and metals, golden bird perches, golden plates, there was no way they paid for those with their salaries…. That was another thing to check, was Binns being paid? If so, why, and where did the money go? A ghost certainly had no use for money. With that she went about what she'd planned, which was going through what was on Dumbledore's desk.

As she did that, Harry's attention was caught by a strange, gagging sound and he found that they weren't alone in there after all. Standing on a golden perch behind the door was a rather decrepit-looking bird that resembled a half-plucked turkey.

Harry looked at it and the bird looked mournfully back, making its gagging noise again. Harry thought it looked very ill. Its eyes were dull and, even as Harry watched, a couple more feathers fell out of its tail.

Harry was just thinking that all he needed was for Dumbledore's pet bird to die while they were alone in the office with it, when the bird burst into flames.

Harry yelled in shock and backed away into the desk. He looked feverishly around for some water somewhere but couldn't see any. The bird, meanwhile, had become a fireball. It gave one loud shriek and next second there was nothing but a smouldering pile of ash on the floor.

The office door opened then and Dumbledore came in, looking very somber.

"Professor," Harry gasped. "Your bird - I couldn't do anything - he just caught fire…."

To Harry's surprise, Dumbledore smiled.

"About time, too," he said. "He's been looking dreadful for days. I've been telling him to get a move on."

He chuckled at the surprised look on Harry's face.

"Fawkes is a phoenix, Harry. Phoenixes burst into flame when it is time for them to die and are reborn from the ashes. Watch him . . ."

Harry looked down in time to see a tiny, wrinkled, newborn bird poke its head out of the ashes.

"It's a shame you had to see him on a Burning Day," said Dumbledore, seating himself behind his desk. "He's really quite handsome most of the time, wonderful red and gold plumage. Fascinating creatures, phoenixes. They can carry immensely heavy loads, their tears have healing powers, and they make highly faithful pets."

Dumbledore may have missed or ignored the offended squawk and baleful look from Fawkes at being called a _pet_ , but Harry didn't.

The Headmaster was distracted at that point though because he'd just realised that Angela was sitting at his desk and going through what was on it, so he hustled over there to evict her from his chair.

Once more in control of his domain, in his mind anyway, he fixed Harry with his penetrating, light-blue stare.

"I must ask you, Harry, whether there is anything you'd like to tell me." he said gently. "Anything at all."

He didn't appreciate the snort from Angela which detracted from the solemnity of the moment and gave Harry a chance to gather his thoughts. No, there was certainly nothing he was interested in telling _Dumbledore_.

"No Sir, what do you mean?"

Dumbledore frowned as this wasn't going the way he wanted. "Hagrid told me that he saw you just before the boy was petrified…."

"Oh, yes, I ran into him when we were on our way back to the tower to get our books for transfiguration."

They were dismissed at that by a very aggravated Dumbledore and Angela took Harry back to class.

* * *

Because of the events of the day, Harry of course had nightmares that night and Hermione went to him to hold him as he slept like she usually did. They were both drained by everything that had happened though and neither of them woke until much later than usual, so the others got up to find Hermione's room empty, with the door part open. Tally wouldn't say anything about where she was because that was the master's business and eventually Susan and Padma burst into Harry's room in a panic to tell him that Hermione was missing, only to find the two of them peacefully wrapped around each other in bed.

Tally hustled them out of the room, saying that the Mistress was fine, and they were left in the common room, loudly wondering what in Merlin's name was going on. Susan had missed the form of address Tally chose to use in her upset state, but Padma hadn't, which just made Luna's comment more believeable.

Luna spoke in her usual dreamy voice, but this wasn't her usual rambling about horned snugglepots or two tailed horn dogs or whatever she talked about, this was one of those incredible insights that she came out with from time to time. "Hermione is Harry's wife-to-be of course, can't you see that their souls have chosen each other? Oh they won't do anything or marry until they are of age, but they will be together forever. It's exciting really, I never thought that I'd have a chance to see true soul mates, but now I have."

Hermione stepped out of Harry's room at that point, refusing to let Tally pop her straight back to her room, but while she had expected to have Susan and Padma, and the boys for that matter, demanding to know what was going on, they were all staring at Luna in stunned silence. She took that opportunity to get to her room so that she could get dressed and come out for breakfast.

At breakfast, the questioning was still a lot more muted than she'd expected, and she was surprised that they let it go when she explained that Tally took her to Harry when he had these terrible nightmares because her holding him made the worst of it go away. She'd looked defiantly at Susan and Padma as she emphasised that she just _held_ him, they weren't doing anything else! Because she'd seen the shocked and scandalised looks on their faces when they caught her in Harry's bed.

Their glances at Luna when they said "Yes, we know." just confused Hermione all the more and Hermione Granger did _not_ like not knowing what was going on! She pulled Padma aside after for a quiet word and to find out why they were acting so strange. Hermione wasn't too sure about the wife-to-be thing but the bit about their souls choosing each other and being soul mates felt so right.

It was the fact that Luna had told them what she'd already decided and hadn't even told Harry yet about not doing anything or getting married until they were of age and being together forever that was really spooky though. So was Padma asking whether she'd noticed how Tally referred to her. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell her that she was wrong, but when she thought back she realised that Tally _did_ call her Mistress, not Miss like she did all the other girls, even Angela. That made her wonder, if Luna was so spot on about everything else, was she really wrong about her being Harry's wife-to-be?

Hermione discussed what Luna had told the others with Harry that night, and the fact that this was exactly what she believed in her heart. She was relieved and happy to hear him say that he felt the same way about everything she said, but then they were both surprised when they felt the magical acceptance of a bond. They went to Angela to ask what this meant and she had them tell her exactly what they'd said. Angela laughed at that, because combined with the connection that the two of them had, which had been described so accurately by Luna, what they'd said to each other was enough to be accepted as a magical betrothal contract. After their initial panic, they decided that they were quite OK with that, but Harry asked what that meant in regard to the protection that they were trying to give Padma and Ginny in regard to their betrothal contracts.

That in turn started an education about the marriage rights of the heads of the Noble and Ancient Houses, and the fact that the greater holdings and status a Noble House has, the more wives the head of the House was entitled to take. What it came down to was that he could have legally taken two wives before he inherited everything from Nicolas Flamel, but as well as doubling his fortune, Nicolas had also named him as his heir, so he could legally take a third wife now, possibly more. She explained that she would have to investigate the status of the Flamel family to be certain of what rights he had inherited from Nicolas, but there would definitely be no issues for him to be betrothed to three girls at this point, so holding the other two contracts for consideration was still valid.

While she was discussing the Flamel inheritance, Angela also pointed out that the additional holdings and status had also increased the number of votes that House Potter controlled in the Wizengamot, once again she'd have to investigate the matter but she was of the opinion that this would probably make Potter the most powerful House in the Wizengamot, which of course strengthened the alliance they had with the Houses of Longbottom and Bones.

Harry went away from the discussion both relieved and worried, and definitely relieved that he had Angela as his Regent to manage these things because he was having trouble getting his head around what she'd just told him.

* * *

For days after Dumbledore was thrown out of Gringotts, he kept flying into a rage whenever copies of The Quibbler edition with the pictures of him being thrown out of Gringotts and huddled in a pathetic heap in the middle of Diagon Alley were found around the castle. He had people watching Luna to try and get evidence that they were coming from her, but all of his spies around the school reported that she wasn't getting mail and wasn't anywhere near where they were turning up.

The last weeks to the Christmas break went quickly but their plans changed when they found that Malfoy had declared that he was staying at Hogwarts for some reason, along with his goons and a few other Slytherins. Neville, Susan and Luna were committed to spend Christmas with their families but the twins had already said that they were staying because Arthur and Molly had won a trip for two in Egypt from some magazine contest that Molly didn't remember entering. Padma had gotten her father's approval to stay at school by telling him she was working on Harry. Hermione got her parents' agreement by promising to come home for Christmas dinner. Tonks stayed with them, as she was working on getting the information from the Slytherins, and trying to find something to pin Lockhart on.

Tonks had fit in well after the first few tense minutes. Remus greeted her with a smile but hadn't gotten more than "Nym..." out before she had a wand six inches away from his face as she bit out. "I. Told. You. Never. to. Call. Me. By. That. Name!" Angela managed to diffuse the situation by calling out "Hello Dora!" cheerfully and Tonks ran to hug her.

When she'd calmed down, she was introduced to the others. She was curious how someone as young as Harry could have impressed the Director of the DMLE so much, and she knew that these other kids had impressed her as well. She'd only been a girl when Lily Potter was killed but she'd been in awe of her, so hearing the Director say that Harry's little friend Hermione might be even brighter than Lily was something that made her sit up and take notice.

Tonks was also quite impressed by how driven these kids were, even the Weasley twins, while that self important twat of a brother of their's, Percy, was certainly driven by his need to _try_ and show that he was better everyone else, the stories she'd heard about the twins had made them out to be more pranksters than scholars, so that was quite a surprise.

It was looking at Luna that almost made her cry, the Director had told her what those pureblood cows had put her through, and that gave Tonks a third agenda, to find a non-traceable way to get back at them.

After a week at Hogwarts, Tonks started to get bored though so they pulled her into helping tutor the kids. The different focus and talents she had broadened and improved the kids' learning, and the fact that she learnt a few things herself helped get her more committed to it.

She did have another job too, the twins' dead sexy brother Bill had asked her to collect what was needed to prove who the rest of the Wesley kids' fathers were. Bill, Charlie and the twins had already been confirmed to be Arthur Weasley's progeny, but Percy, Ron and Ginny weren't yet. Bill had seemed to be indicating that there were serious questions about that as far as their brothers went at least and Tonks had agreed to get what was needed from them, doing a deal with him for one date per collection. She would have done it all for one date but a girl's got to at least pretend to play hard to get and she wasn't about to turn down two more dates with Bill, her mother didn't raise no fool!

* * *

There were very few left at Hogwarts after the Hogwarts Express departed, because fear of what had been happening at the school meant that just about anyone who could leave, did. That made Tonks' first job difficult. This meant that she had a limited pool of Slytherin students to draw from and she'd had to call on Angela's skills with memory charms to cover up the fact that they'd been stunned so she could take their place.

In the end, what she found was that Draco Malfoy didn't know anything anyway. She knocked out one of his goons, Goyle, and took his place. They were in the Slytherin common room and she was thinking that most of her mother's family would have been in here when Malfoy started sprouting off.

"Saint Potter, the Mudbloods' friend," Malfoy moaned. "He's another one with no proper wizard feeling, or he wouldn't go around with that jumped up Granger Mudblood. And people think he's Slytherin's heir!"

She waited with bated breath. Malfoy was surely seconds away from telling her it was him, but then…..

"I only wish I knew who it is," Malfoy whined. "I could help them."

She decided to prod him. "You must have some idea who's behind it all ..."

"You know I haven't, Goyle, how many times do I have to tell you?" snapped Malfoy. "And Father won't tell me anything about the last time the Chamber was opened either. Of course, it was fifty years ago, so it was before his time, but he knows all about it, and he says that it was all kept quiet and it'll look suspicious if I know too much about it. But I know one thing - last time the Chamber of Secrets was opened, a Mudblood died. So I bet it's a matter of time before one of them's killed this time ... and I hope it's Granger," he said with relish.

Tonks swallowed her anger and asked. "D'you know if the person who opened the Chamber last time was caught?"

"Oh, yeah ... whoever it was was expelled," said Malfoy. "They're probably still in Azkaban."

"Azkaban?" Surely they would have found records if anyone went to Azkaban last time?

"Yes, Azkaban, the wizard prison, Goyle," said Malfoy, looking at him in disbelief "Honestly, if you were any slower, you'd put down roots."

He shifted restlessly in his chair and said, "Father says to keep my head down and let the Heir of Slytherin get on with it. He says the school needs ridding of all the Mudblood filth, but told me not to get mixed up in it. Of course, he's got a lot on his plate at the moment. You know the Ministry of Magic raided our manor last week?"

Tonks tried to force Goyle's dull face into a look of concern.

Malfoy gave a superior smile. "Luckily, they didn't find much, even though father's got some very valuable Dark Arts stuff. Good thing we've got our very own secret chamber under the drawing-room floor!"

Tonks made a mental note to pass that little titbit on to the Director and made an excuse to leave.

Unfortunately she'd knocked Malfoy out of contention as the potential so called Heir of Slytherin, but she had managed to find out a few facts which might point them in the right direction. The location of the Malfoy's vault full of illegal dark objects though, that was gold!

With the Potter House question covered, Tonks went after the target she was officially here for, Goldilocks Lockhart. She quickly worked out why he'd jumped at taking a teacher's position here, because the pig liked young girls. Tonks was having trouble getting information about him because he was trying to chat her up whenever she went as a girl, even when she assumed the identity of a Third year student (she didn't want to risk trying anyone younger, if he tried it on with a girl that age she'd kill the bastard!). His focus changed when she went as a boy but then he was trying to be best chums. So she still couldn't get much information out of him.

She was still getting bits here and there though, so the Director told her to keep going because the rest of the team was drawing a blank, literally. What they were finding was that whenever they identified the actual events that he'd claimed to have done in his books, they'd track down the person that everyone actually said had done it, only to find all their memories of the event had been wiped.

The Director told her that she may be here for the long haul, and made arrangements with Angela to have her status at Hogwarts changed to a tutor and guard for the Potter group. Truth be known she didn't mind that because she found teaching students like these rewarding. It also gave her time to accomplish her other tasks, get back at those cows who'd hounded Luna and get what Bill wanted for him.

That was why, when she officially came in after the Christmas break, the records showed that Nymphodora (Call me Dora!) Tonks had failed out of Auror training and had been hired by the Potter Estate. In fact she'd jumped ahead of the others in training because the Director had made her a Junior Auror with her record sealed, and she was reporting directly to her. This meant that with Angela as a Senior Auror, the Director now had two people who held Aurors' authority right inside Hogwarts.

* * *

There was another piece of news that gave everyone in the Potter group reason to rejoice when they returned after Christmas, Gringott's curse breakers had managed to extract and destroy the Voldemort soul fragment that had been lodged in the mark on Harry's forehead. They had come up with one spell to extract, and another to destroy the soul fragment and when they did it, there had been no question that it had been destroyed. The shriek when it went almost shredded their ears and they immediately cast the detection spells again. None of the dark magic that was showing just before the second spell was cast showed now, so by all indications Harry was cleansed of Voldemort's presence. Another side benefit was that the mark was mostly gone now.

Given that Harry had apparently acquired some capabilities from Voldemort via the soul fragment, such as Parseltongue, wandless spell casting etc, they tested Harry's magic as far as these and other capabilities went after they'd destroyed the soul fragment, but he had lost none of them, if anything his magic was stronger without fighting with part of Voldemort. Before they left, Harry, Hermione, Remus and Angela all insisted on learning the cleansing spell that had destroyed the soul fragment, and also the detection spells, extraction spell and the destroy dark spell that testing showed would have pretty much the same effect as what happened to Quirrell when he touched the mark on Harry's forehead.

* * *

One night when they were taking the chance to relax, they were all laughing about Ron Weasley's attempts to befriend Harry under Mummy's orders, and they were taking turns to come out with stories of his stupidity. They made Harry tell about his original train trip to Hogwarts first, because they didn't think anything could top that, but Luna had one that came close.

Ron had actually been held back at the end of First year, so he was in Luna and Ginny's classes, and in Charms he was waving his wand around so madly that he almost broke it in two when he hit the edge of the desk with it. He'd taped it up, because he was afraid to tell his parents how he broke it, and nearly every time he tried to use it now it backfired. No-one wanted to be anywhere near him in class when he tried a spell because what came out of his wand and where it went was anyone's guess.

The other big laugh was that he was one of the only boys who thought Lockhart was brilliant and he hung on his every word.

* * *

There were few laughs the next day, because they'd had Dommy watching Dumbledore and he popped up to say that Dumbledore and a strange man were going to Hagrid's cottage, talking like Hagrid was in trouble. Harry grabbed his cloak of invisibility and had Dommy take him and Angela straight to Hagrid's cottage. They barely had time to warn Hagrid that people were coming when there was a knock on the door, they hastily hid in a dark corner under the invisibility cloak and when he was sure they were well hidden, Hagrid open the door.

"Good evening, Hagrid."

It was Dumbledore. He entered, looking deadly serious, and was followed by a second, very odd looking man.

The stranger had rumpled gray hair and an anxious expression, and was wearing a rather eclectic mixture of clothes, a pinstriped suit, a scarlet tie, a long black cloak and pointed purple boots. Under his arm he carried a lime-green bowler.

Harry could tell that Angela knew who the other man who'd come with Dumbledore was because he felt her tense up when she saw him. She turned and whispered into his ear. "That's Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic."

Hagrid had gone pale and sweaty when he saw them. He all but fell into one of his chairs and looked from Dumbledore to Cornelius Fudge in trepidation.

"This is bad business, Hagrid," said Fudge in clipped tones. "Very bad business. Had to come. Two more attacks on Muggleborns. People are worried. The Ministry's got to act."

"I never," Hagrid said imploringly at Dumbledore. "You know I never, Professor Dumbledore, sir….."

"I want it understood, Cornelius, that Hagrid has my full confidence." Dumbledore said as he frowned at Fudge.

"Look, Albus." said Fudge, uncomfortably. "Hagrid's record's against him. The Ministry's got to do something…. the school board has been in touch…"

Harry felt Angela tense up again and she shook her head slightly to say that this was the first she'd heard of it.

"Yet again, Cornelius, I tell you that taking Hagrid away will not help in the slightest." Dumbledore responded, but he seemed to be more going through the motions than anything.

"Look at it from my point of view Albus." said Fudge, fidgeting with his bowler. "I'm under a lot of pressure. I've Got to be seen to be doing something. If it turns out it wasn't Hagrid, he'll be back and no more said. But I've got to take him. Got to. Wouldn't be doing my duty…"

"Take me?" asked Hagrid, who was trembling. "Take me where?"

"For a short stretch only," said Fudge, not meeting Hagrid's eyes. "Not a punishment, Hagrid, more a precaution. If someone else is caught, you'll be let out with a full apology….."

"Not Azkaban?" croaked Hagrid.

Dumbledore looked at him, "I am afraid so Hagrid, but be assured that I will be doing everything I can to get your name cleared and get you back here where you belong."

"But what about Fang and my job?"

"Never fear Hagrid, Mister Filch will look after Fang and your other duties while you are away, now come along. I promise that we will get this cleared up quickly so you can return."

They led Hagrid out of the cottage snivelling, and Harry waited a few minutes before he called for Dommy to take them back.

When Angela had stopped swearing, she sent Tally and Dommy to ask Amelia and Augusta whether they had been contacted about taking Hagrid into custody as members of the board, and in Amelia's case as the Director of the DMLE. The answer of course was 'No.' from both of them, so there would be questions about who it was who'd acted on behalf of the board. Amelia reminded her that she hadn't found anything when they looked before but promised that she'd investigate Hagrid's so-called 'record' and let them know what she found out, and also if she was officially contacted about any of this.

Amelia came back quickly as promised to say that there was no record in the DMLE for Hagrid, so they went to Professor McGonagall. She was angry that Dumbledore hadn't told her, as the Deputy Headmistress, anything about this and looked in the school records. She came back to tell them that Hagrid had been expelled and had his wand snapped on the word of a Hogwarts prefect, Tom Riddle, after one of the female students was killed by an unknown creature in one of the bathrooms at Hogwarts. No investigation had been done because of the many stories that were going around the school about Hagrid collecting and raising dangerous creatures as pets and Tom Riddle was Hogwarts' brightest star at that time, so just on Riddle's word alone they snapped his wand and expelled him. Apparently the then transfiguration professor, Albus Dumbledore, had made a case for Hagrid and got him taken on as a gamekeeper.

* * *

Harry gave Dommy the responsibility of looking after Fang and then they started going over what clues they had about the Chamber of Secrets, because none of them was under the delusion that Dumbledore was going to do anything to save Hagrid. If anyone was going to clear Hagrid's name and get him back it would be them.

Some points were obvious, like the fact that between the connection with Slytherin and the fact that Harry was the only one who could hear the voice, the monster had to be a serpent of some form. Given that it was supposed to survive Merlin knew how many generations until the 'true heir' arrived, it had to live hundreds of years at least, that had to narrow it down quite a bit. They also knew that it petrified its victims and sometimes killed from that girl who died fifty years ago, spiders were afraid of it for some reason and the fact that two roosters had been killed but none of the chickens had to be a clue as well. Luna suddenly whispered something in Hermione's ear and the two of them jumped up to get Tally to take them to the Potter family library.

Just after they left, Angela started swearing, when the others looked at her she explained. "We know that a girl was killed in a school bathroom fifty years ago?" Everyone nodded. "How many ghosts of students do we know of in Hogwarts?"

Half of them blurted out. "Myrtle!" together and Angela nodded grimly. "What a great Auror I am, the clue's been staring me in the face all along and I've missed it!"

Hermione and Luna were brought back soon after that, all excited, Hermione read a passage from the book they found in the Library. "Of the many fearsome beasts and monsters that roam our land, there is none more curious or more deadly than the Basilisk, known also as the King of Serpents. This snake, which may reach gigantic size and live many hundreds of years, is born from a chicken's egg, hatched beneath a toad. Its methods of killing are most wondrous, for aside from its deadly and venomous fangs, the Basilisk has a murderous stare, and all who are fixed with the beam of its eye shall suffer instant death. Spiders flee before the Basilisk, for it is their mortal enemy, and the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of the rooster, which is fatal to it."

They all nodded, as that was too close not to be what they were facing. There was still the question of why Colin, Justin and the cat were petrified rather than killed and what happened to Sir Nicholas, but that may have just come down to them not seeing the Basilisk's eyes directly.

The girls were excited when Harry said that they believed that they'd located the entrance too, but Harry waved to Angela because she was the one who put it together. It was fun for a moment to see Hermione kicking herself because she hadn't put that together herself.

* * *

That fun moment was cut off all too soon when Professor McGonagall called for Dommy to bring the twins to her office (as vassals of House Potter, she, Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout could call for the Potter elves, this was quite useful when they needed to contact the group quickly). Angela, Remus, Harry and Hermione went with them and they found Arthur, Percy and Ron already there, along with Professor Flitwick, Professor Sprout and Lockhart. When Angela looked around rather obviously Professor McGonagall said. "We can't locate the Headmaster for some reason, and apparently Missus Weasley is making herself presentable, but we can't wait for them….."

"A student has been taken by the monster. Right into the Chamber itself."

Professor Flitwick gripped the back of a chair to hold himself up and asked, "How can you be sure?"

"The Heir of Slytherin," Professor McGonagall answered faintly. "left another message. Right underneath the first one. 'Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever.' That's a clear enough."

Professor Sprout burst into tears.

"Who is it?" asked Professor Flitwick as he sunk, weak-kneed, into the chair. "Which student?"

Professor McGonagall looked sadly at Arthur and his sons. "It's Ginevra Weasley, her bag was left under the sign like Mister Filch's cat."

Arthur collapsed into a chair at that, the shock of finding that his little girl had been taken by the monster too much for him. He stirred himself when Harry shouted.

"No! We're certain we know what the monster is and where the entrance is, we'll get her back!"

He turned and ran out of the office with everyone else at his heels. When Lockhart tried to stay behind, Ron grabbed him, shouting that they needed him. Remus sent Dommy to get Rackclaw to bring all of the guards to the out of order girls' bathroom in the dungeon as quick as possible.

When they reached the bathroom, Harry told the rest of them to stay back while he and Hermione went to Myrtle's stall.

Myrtle was sitting on the tank of the end toilet.

"Oh, it's you," she said when she saw Hermione. "What do you want this time?"

Myrtle's whole aspect changed when Hermione responded."To ask you how you died." She looked as though she had never been anything but taunted before and was revelling in this new experience.

"Ooooh, it was dreadful," she said with relish. "It happened right in here. I died in this very stall. I remember it so well. I was hiding because Olive Hornby was teasing me about my glasses. The door was locked, and I was crying, and then I heard somebody come in. They said something funny. I think it must have been a different language. Anyway, what really got me was that it was a boy speaking. So I unlocked the door, to tell him to go and use the boys' toilet, and then…"

Myrtle slumped, finishing quietly. "I died."

"How?" said Harry.

"I have no idea," said Myrtle in hushed tones. "I just remember seeing a pair of great, big, yellow eyes. My whole body sort of seized up, and then I was floating away . . . ." She looked dreamily at Harry. "And then I came back again. I was determined to haunt Olive Hornby, you see. Oh, was she sorry she'd ever laughed at my glasses."

"Where exactly did you see the eyes?" said Harry.

"Somewhere there," said Myrtle, pointing vaguely toward the sink at the other end of the bathroom.

Harry and Ron hurried over to it. Lockhart was standing well back, a look of utter terror on his face.

It looked like an ordinary sink. They examined every inch of it, inside and out, including the pipes below. And then Harry saw it: Scratched on the side of one of the copper taps was a tiny snake.

"Oh that tap's never worked." said Myrtle brightly as he tried to turn it.

"Harry," said Hermione. "Say something. Say something in Parseltongue."

Drawing on how they'd tested this at Gringotts, he said. " _Open up._ "

All the others heard was a strange hissing sound, but at once the tap glowed with a bright white light and began to spin. Next second, the sink began to move, sinking right out of sight to leave a large hole exposed, this hole almost wide enough for a man to stand up in. There was a pipe leading down from this hole.

Harry heard someone gasp and the others crowded around to look down the hole. Lockhart suddenly pulled out his wand, saying. "You can't make me go down there!"

Fred and George cried out. "Expelliarmus!" in unison to disarm him but Lockhart was blasted back into the hole. Harry caught Lockhart's wand and saw Lockhart disappearing down the pipe, screaming all the way.

He had made up his mind immediately what he was going to do. He couldn't not go, not now they had found the entrance to the Chamber, not if there was any chance that Ginny might be alive.

He tossed aside Lockhart's wand as he looked at the others and said that he was going and Hermione, Remus and Angela stepped up without a word, there was no way he was going without them. Rackclaw and the other goblin guards had just arrived and Rackclaw, Krogar and two others stepped up as well.

Arthur stepped up but Remus shook his head. "No Arthur, you're out of practice, you might get in the way of us saving Ginny." Arthur nodded sadly as he accepted this, but Fred and George stepped up and said. "Well we're not!" At Arthur's nod, Remus nodded as well.

It took less than thirty seconds to this point but Percy started arguing that they needed to wait for the proper authorities. The twins just told him that he wasn't going to stop them saving their sister and leapt into the pipe, sliding after Lockhart. At least Lockhart was letting them know that this was a _long_ way down, because he hadn't stopped screaming yet and they weren't getting any closer, so he was still falling.

Harry leapt in after the twins, changing to his animagus form as he did so and Hermione and Angela followed right after him. Remus turned to the professors and said. "You should stay here with Arthur in case the basilisk gets past us, hopefully between you and our other guards you'll be able to stop it. Remember, don't look it in the eye, it will kill you if you do." He snorted. "It would be nice if someone could work out how to get us back out of there too."

With that, he leapt into the pipe, but Ron leapt in before Rackclaw and the other goblin guards could follow. He wasn't about to let Harry Bloody Potter, two girls, the twins and a bunch of goblins show him up! Ron Weasley would have his share of being a hero!

Running down the pipe, Harry was moving faster than Fred and George were sliding down on their arses, so he passed them on the way down, actually he leapt over them in the tunnel, so he was the first to reach the bottom after Lockhart. Hermione, Angela and Remus had all gone snow boarding in the muggle world, so they skated down on their feet and also got more pace up on the slick, slimy surface in the pipe than Fred and George. All three of them had also caught up with the twins by the time they reached the bottom.

Harry heard the thump and scream when Lockhart reached the bottom, so he started braking to make his landing softer, though it was more crashing into the wall than landing, as the pipe levelled out at the end and exited in the wall rather than the ceiling. He came to a stop in his animagus form before changing back, pulling out his wand and crying. "Lumos!" to light up the landing area for the others, a quick glance at Lockhart where he was crumpled against the wall showed that he'd either knocked himself out or fainted. He could hear that the others were still a few minutes away but at least they could see where the end was this way. He could hear someone else screaming behind them, and guessed that it was Ron.

Hermione, Angela and Remus had gotten past Fred and George and spread out a little so that they came out one at a time. Harry cast a banishing spell at each of them as they came out of the pipe to stop them from crashing into the wall. Angela and Remus did the same for Fred and George and the goblins. Fred slowed Ron, but he still had a fair bit of pace when he piled into the opposite wall.

When they were all down, Remus snorted. "Well that was fun!"

Harry didn't have more than a brief grin in him before he asked. "Does anyone have any idea how far we've come or where we are?"

Hermiome piped up. "By my calculations we've come at least a mile!"

Rackbar nodded. "From the direction and angle of our descent, we must be under the lake now."

They all nodded at that, no-one was going to question a goblin on where you were headed underground.

The tunnel they were in was at least twice the size of the pipe they just came out of but the floor was just as wet and slimy. Casting light in either direction showed that the floor had been recently disturbed in one direction, but the other direction looked like it hadn't been disturbed in centuries, which made it obvious which way they had to go. A quick look around confirmed everyone's agreement and they headed out. Unfortunately Ron had revived Lockhart so they were still with them.

Even though it wasn't necessary, Remus reminded them. "Remember, look away if you see anything moving. You should really close your eyes, but that's probably just choosing another way to die."

Trying to lighten the mood, Angela responded. "Well that's a cheery thought, why are you my partner again?"

Harry tried to help turn the tone. "What's this? Neither of you have requested you liege lord's permission for this union!"

Angela smirked. "I must apologise my lord, I was under the impression that as your Regent I was able to bless the union myself."

Harry inclined his head. "Quite right, my apologies Madam Potter."

There were a few snickers from the twins and Hermione giggled, then they shut up to concentrate on the serious business in front of them.

Finding pieces of old sheep, cattle and bigger skeletons along the sides of the tunnel didn't add to their sense of security at all, because they had to look at each to see whether it looked like a small girl's, or recent. Luckily none of the skeletons they saw appeared newer than the last time the chamber was opened, or human, but a few might have been goblin bones.

* * *

They'd gone about a mile down this tunnel, carefully checking when other tunnels came in from the side, when they saw something large at the edge of the light being cast by their wands. With a quick look to confirm that they were all ready, Harry, Remus and Angela cast starburst charms at the shape that they could see and rushed forward, hoping to surprise it while it was blinded by the brilliant light of the starburst charms.

What they found was actually a vivid green shed snakeskin, but that didn't reassure them much because they knew that snakeskins were shed when the snake outgrows them, and this skin was already over twenty foot long. Harry started out again but Lockhart slumped as if he'd fainted and for some reason Ron tried to grab him. Lockhart moved faster than Harry had ever seen him as he snatched Ron's wand and stepped back.

"I told you that I wasn't coming down here but you bastards blasted me down that bloody pipe! There's no bloody way that I'm going up against something like _that_ so I'm getting out of here. Now I'm afraid that I can't let any of you tell the story of how I ran away screaming like a little girl as that would damage my reputation and seriously hamper my income, so now I'm afraid that I'm going to have to show you what I'm really a master at. Don't worry, none of you will remember a thing, so it should be a quick way to go when the snake gets you. I'll just have to tell my heartfelt story about how the little girl was gone by the time we reached her, and how you were all so stricken with grief that you rushed in to attack the snake and tragically died before I had a chance to kill the monster."

Lockhart was preparing the spell to blast all of their memories as he talked, but he saw Harry coming at him out of the corner of his eye just before he released it and turned and blasted the spell at him instead. With any other wand it might have worked (well against someone else, it was questionable whether any spell aimed at Harry in malice would have worked), but he had Ron's dodgy, broken wand that blew back more often than not and when he tried to throw the powerful spell with it, it exploded with enough force to bring the ceiling of the tunnel down.

Harry had to turn and run to avoid being flattened by the falling ceiling as it filled the tunnel. When things had stopped falling, he came back as far as he could and tried calling out in hope of finding out how everyone else had fared. He heard enough to know that Lockhart got flattened but everyone else was OK aside from scrapes and bruises. He slumped in relief at that and then called back to say that he was going on to get Ginny.

They tried to get him to wait for them to get through but he pointed out that they didn't know how long she'd been down here or what was happening to her, so they stopped arguing and said that they'd clear the blockage and come after him as soon as they could. With that he turned and headed down the tunnel again.

About half a mile further on the tunnel ended in a chamber. What appeared to be a portal had two interlocked snakes carved into it. He didn't need two guesses to work out how to open it, he just hoped the command was what he expected. With that, he said. " _Open._ " in parseltongue. He was at once relieved and terrified when the snakes slithered out of the way and the door leaves ponderously opened.

* * *

The long, narrow chamber that he stepped through the portal into with his heart in mouth and wand at ready was magically lit. He was swearing to himself as he moved carefully through the chamber, because it would take a miracle for him to see the basilisk when every column had serpents carved into it and the lighting cast a green glow over everything. It also didn't help that his imagination kept telling him that the carved snakes were moving. As well as the basilisk, he was looking for the one he'd come here for, but finding a small girl in there would be harder to than spotting a bloody great basilisk.

When he passed the last of the serpent columns, the chamber opened up in front of the massive bust of Salazar Slytherin, this bust went to the ceiling of the chamber, which by Harry's estimate made it at least thirty feet high. As impressive as Slytherin's monument to himself was, though, Harry's attention was captured by something much smaller off to the side of it, a small figure in black robes with flaming red hair.

Harry cried out "Ginny!" as he ran to her and dropped to his knees beside her. Laying there with her eyes closed, she didn't look like the ones who were petrified, but she was so deathly pale that he thought she was dead until she saw that she was faintly breathing. He started shaking her and calling her name until he heard a soft voice say. "She won't wake."

Harry jumped and twisted around to see a tall, black-haired boy leaning against the the base of Slytherin's bust, watching them. He didn't look quite right or quite all there and Harry thought his glasses must be misted up.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Tom, Tom Riddle."

He saw that that meant something to Harry and smirked.

"What do you mean, she won't wake?" Harry asked desperately.

"She's still alive." said Riddle. "But only just."

Harry stared at him, a little confused. Tom Riddle had been at Hogwarts fifty years ago, yet here he stood, slightly indistinct but not a day older than sixteen.

"Are you a ghost?" Harry said uncertainly.

"No, a memory," said Riddle quietly. "One that was preserved in a diary for fifty years."

He pointed toward the floor near Ginny. Lying open there was a little black diary.

"You've got to help me Tom," Harry said, gathering Ginny into his arms. "We've got to get her out of here. There's a basilisk ... I don't know where it is, but it could be along any moment ... Please, help me."

Riddle didn't make a move so Harry struggled to his feet with Ginny in his arms before bending to pick up his wand. But his wand had gone.

"Did you see….?"

He cut off his question when he saw Riddle. Riddle was still watching him, and he was twirling Harry's wand between his fingers.

"Thanks." said Harry, stretching out his hand for it.

A smile curled the corners of Riddle's mouth. He continued to stare at Harry, twirling the wand idly.

"Listen," said Harry urgently, struggling to hold Ginny. "We've got to get out of here! If the basilisk comes…"

"It won't come until it is called," said Riddle calmly.

"What do you mean?" he said. "Look, give me my wand, I might need it to deal with that thing!"

Riddle's smile broadened.

"You won't be needing it," he said.

Harry stared at him. "What do you mean, I won't be needing it?"

"I've waited a long time for this, Harry Potter," said Riddle. "For the chance to see you. To speak to you."

"Look, we don't have time! We're in the Chamber of Secrets. We can talk later…."

"We're going to talk now," answered Riddle as he pocketed Harry's wand.

Harry stared at him and then lowered Ginny back to the floor. Obviously Riddle was behind this somehow.

"How did Ginny get like this?" he asked.

"Now, that's an interesting question," said Riddle pleasantly. "And quite a long story. I suppose the main reason Ginny Weasley's like this is because she opened her heart and shared all her secrets with an invisible stranger."

"What are you talking about?"

"The diary, my diary. Little Ginny's been writing in it for months and months, telling me all her pitiful worries and woes, how her brothers tease her, how she had to come to school with second hand robes and books, how" Riddle's eyes glinted "How she didn't think the famous, good and great Harry Potter would ever like her . . . ."

As he spoke, Riddle's eyes never left Harry's face. There was an almost hungry look in them.

"It was boring really, having to listen to the silly little troubles of an eleven year-old girl," he went on.

"But I was patient. I wrote back. I was sympathetic, I was kind. Ginny simply loved me. No one's ever understood me like you, Tom ... I'm so glad I've got this diary to confide in ... It's like having a friend I can carry around in my pocket . . . . Riddle laughed, a cold laugh. It made a chill go down Harry's back.

"If I do say so myself, Harry, I've always been quite good at charming the people I need. So little Ginny poured out her soul to me, and her soul happened to be exactly what I wanted... I kept growing stronger and stronger on her deepest fears, her darkest secrets. I grew powerful, far more powerful than little Miss Weasley. Powerful enough to start feeding Miss Weasley a few of my secrets, to start pouring a little of my soul back into her. . ."

"What do you mean by that?" said Harry, his mouth suddenly very dry.

"Haven't you worked it out yet, Harry Potter?" Riddle laughed softly. "It was Ginny Weasley who opened the Chamber of Secrets. She strangled the school's roosters and wrote those threatening messages on the walls. She set the Serpent of Slytherin on two Mudbloods, and the Squib's cat.

"No!" Harry whispered.

"Yes." Riddle replied calmly. "Of course, she didn't know what she was doing at first. It was very amusing. You should have seen her new diary entries ... they became far more interesting ... Dear Tom," he recited, watching Harry's horrified face. "I think I'm losing my memory. There are rooster feathers all over my robes and I don't know how they got there."

"Dear Tom, l can't remember what I did on the night of Halloween, but a cat was attacked and I've got paint all down my front."

"Dear Tom, my brother Percy keeps telling me I'm pale and I'm not myself. I think he suspects me... There was another attack today and I don't know where I was. Tom, what am I going to do? I think I'm going mad... I think I'm the one attacking everyone, Tom!"

"It took a very long time for stupid little Ginny to stop trusting her diary," said Riddle. "But she finally became suspicious and tried to dispose of it. Now if you had gotten it I would have been happy. Because you were the person I was most anxious to meet . . . ."


	8. Secrets Revealed

**Usual disclaimers, not rights to any characters portrayed and this is neither the real world nor a Disney Princess tale.**

"And why did you want to meet me?" asked Harry. The anger coursing through him made it an effort to keep his voice steady.

"Well, you see, Ginny told me all about you Harry," said Riddle. "Your whole fascinating history. " His eyes looked for the lightning scar on Harry's forehead that he'd heard about, but he hesitated when he saw that it was hardly there. "I knew I must find out more about you, talk to you, meet you if I could. I was even planning to show you my famous capture of that great oaf, Hagrid, to gain your trust."

"That certainly wouldn't have worked! Hagrid's my friend, and you framed him, didn't you? I thought you were just some over eager busybody like Percy, but it was intentional, wasn't it?"

Riddle shrugged as he laughed again. "It came down to my word against Hagrid's. Of course, you can imagine how it had to have looked to old Dippet. On the one hand, he had Tom Riddle, poor but brilliant, parentless but so brave, a school prefect and the model student … while on the other hand, he had big, blundering Hagrid, in trouble all the time, trying to raise werewolf cubs under his bed, always sneaking off into the Forbidden Forest to wrestle trolls ..."

"I must admit, even I was surprised how well my plan worked out. I was sure that _someone_ would have realised that Hagrid couldn't possibly have been the Heir of Slytherin. It had taken _me_ five years to find out everything I could about the Chamber of Secrets and discover the secret entrance... as though that oaf could have had the brains to do that, or the power to open the Chamber!"

"Only that Transfiguration teacher, Dumbledore, seemed to have any doubt that Hagrid was guilty. He talked Dippet into letting Hagrid stay and train him as gamekeeper. He might have guessed .… but then he never seemed to like me as much as the other teachers did ..."

"I'm glad someone got in your way." Harry spat between gritted teeth.

"Well, he certainly kept an annoyingly close watch on me after Hagrid was expelled," Riddle replied carelessly. "I knew it wouldn't be safe to open the Chamber again while I was still at school. But I wasn't about to waste those long years I'd spent searching for it. That's why I decided to leave behind a diary, preserving my sixteen-year-old self in its pages, so that one day, with luck, I would be able to lead another to finish Salazar Slytherin's noble work."

"Well, you haven't finished it, have you?" asked Harry to bait him. "No one's died this time, not even the cat. In a few hours the Mandrake Draught will be ready and everyone who was petrified will be all right again….."

"Haven't I told you?" said Riddle quietly, "Killing Mudbloods doesn't matter to me any more. Ever since Ginny wrote in the diary about the great Harry Potter, my target has been you!"

Harry stared at him.

"Can you imagine how angry I was when the next time my diary was opened, it was still Ginny who was writing to me? She saw her brother with the diary after she threw it away, you see, and panicked. What if he found out how to work it, and I had him repeat all her secrets to you? What if, even worse, I told him who'd been strangling roosters and writing those terrible things around the castle? So the foolish little brat waited until his dorm room was empty and stole the diary back. But it was clear to me that you were working out the clues about the Chamber of Secrets and from everything Ginny had told me about you, I knew you would go to any lengths to solve the mystery, particularly if one of your friends was attacked. And Ginny had told me how the whole school has been talking about you being able to speak Parseltongue ..."

"So I made Ginny write where she'd been taken to on the wall and we come down here to wait. She struggled and cried and it became quite boring. But thankfully that's stopped since there isn't much life left in her now... It's gone into the diary you see, into me. She gave me enough to let me escape its pages at long last and I have been waiting for you since we got here. I knew you'd come of course."

"I have many questions for you, Harry Potter."

"Like what?" Harry spat.

"Well," Riddle's expression grew grim. "how is it that you, a skinny boy with no extraordinary magical talent, could have managed to defeat the greatest wizard of all time? How did you escape with nothing but a scar, while Lord Voldemort's powers were destroyed?" he finished with a gleam in his eye.

"Why do you care how I escaped?" Voldemort was after your time ...…

"Voldemort," Riddle answered softly. "is my past, present, and future Harry Potter . . . ."

He pulled Harry's wand from his pocket and used it to write three flaming words that hung in the air. TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE

Then he waved the wand again, causing the letters of his name to rearrange themselves. I AM LORD VOLDEMORT

"See?" he whispered. "I was already using the name at Hogwarts with my most intimate friends. Did you really think I was going to keep my filthy Muggle father's name? I, in whose veins runs the blood of Salazar Slytherin himself? Why would I keep the name of a foul, common Muggle, who abandoned my mother and I even before I was born, purely because he found out his wife was a witch? No, Harry Potter, I fashioned myself a worthy name of my own, a name I knew that wizards everywhere would one day fear to speak, when I had become the greatest wizard in the world!"

Harry stared numbly at Riddle, at the orphaned boy who had grown up to murder Harry's own parents, and so many others ... And at last he spoke.

"You're not," he said, his quiet voice full of hatred.

"Not what?" snapped Riddle.

"You're not the greatest wizard in the world," Harry sneered at him. "Come on, you can't even defeat Albus Dumbledore. Back when you were supposedly so strong, you didn't dare try and take over at Hogwarts. Dumbledore saw through you when you were at school and he still frightens you now, wherever it is you're hiding these days…."

The smile was long gone from Riddle's face now, replaced by a look of rage.

"Dumbledore's been driven out of this castle by the mere memory of me!" he hissed.

Harry laughed. "Who told you that? He's still here."

* * *

Riddle opened his mouth to respond, but froze as flames erupted at the top of the nearest pillar and a musical trilling rang out through the chamber. It was eerie, spine-tingling and unearthly, it filled Harry with warmth and made his heart feel as though it was swelling.

A crimson and gold bird the size of a swan had appeared atop the pillar, trilling its song of hope to the vaulted ceiling. It had a glittering golden tail as long as a peacock's and gleaming golden talons, in which were gripped a ragged bundle.

A moment later, the bird was flying straight to Harry. It dropped the bundle it was carrying at his feet, then perched on his shoulder. As it folded its great wings, Harry looked up to see that it had a long, sharp golden beak and black eyes.

The bird stopped singing. It sat still and warm next to Harry's cheek, gazing steadily at Riddle.

"That's a phoenix." mused Riddle, staring back at it.

"Fawkes?" Harry breathed, and he felt the bird's golden claws squeeze his shoulder gently.

"And that…." said Riddle, now looking down at the ragged thing that Fawkes had dropped, "that's the old school Sorting Hat….."

Harry looked down, yes, that was what it was. Patched, frayed, and dirty, the hat lay motionless at his feet.

Riddle began to laugh again. He laughed so loud that the dark chamber echoed with it, as though there were a dozen of him laughing.

"This is what Dumbledore sends his defender! A songbird and an old hat! Do you feel brave, Harry Potter? Do you feel safe now?"

Harry shrugged. He might not see what use Fawkes or the Sorting Hat were, but Fawkes had raised his spirits and he waited for Riddle to stop laughing with calm confidence.

"Let's get down to business then." said Riddle, still smiling broadly. "Twice, in your past, in my future, we have met. And twice I failed to kill you. How did you survive? Tell me everything. The longer you talk," he added menacingly, "the longer you stay alive."

Harry was weighing his chances, Riddle had his wand, he had Fawkes and the Sorting Hat, neither of which looked to be much good in a duel.

It wasn't the best scenario... but he realised that the longer Riddle stood there, the more the life was dwindling from Ginny ... and in the meantime, Harry noticed, Riddle's form was becoming clearer, more solid ... So I there was to be a fight between him and Riddle, it would be better for him if it were sooner than later.

"It's eating you up, isn't it? Not knowing why you lost your powers when you attacked me?" Harry goaded with a smile. "Maybe I don't know myself. Could it be that my mother died to save me, my common muggleborn mother?" he spat, with real rage at his mother's murder. "Her sacrifice defeated you, there's no question about that! But I've seen the real you Tom, I saw you last year. And you know? You're a wreck! You're barely alive. That's where all your power got you. You're hiding somewhere from a twelve year old boy who's stopped you twice now. You're ugly, you're foul…."

Riddle's face twisted in rage, but he forced it into an awful smile. "So. Your mother died to save you. Yes, that's powerful magic. I can see that ... so there is nothing special about you, after all. I had wondered, you see? After all, there are strange parallels between us, after all. Even someone like you must have picked them up. We're both half-bloods and orphans who were raised by muggles. We are probably the only two Parselmouths to come to Hogwarts since the great Slytherin himself. We even look something alike ... but now I know that it was merely a lucky chance that saved you from me. That's all I wanted to know."

* * *

Harry stood, tense, waiting for Riddle to raise his wand. But Riddle's twisted smile was widening again.

"Now, Harry Potter, I'm going to teach you a little lesson. Let's match the powers of Lord Voldemort, Heir of Salazar Slytherin, against the famous Harry Potter, and the best weapons that Dumbledore can give him . . . ."

He cast an amused eye over Fawkes and the Sorting Hat, then walked away. Harry, getting nervous again, watched Riddle stop between the high pillars and turn to look into the stone face of Salazar Slytherin. Riddle opened his mouth wide and hissed, but Harry heard the words .…

"Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four. "

Harry heard a grating sound behind him and turned to look at the statue, Fawkes swaying on his shoulder.

Slytherin's gigantic stone face was moving. Harry watched with foreboding as the mouth opened, wider and wider, to reveal a large opening. And he saw something stirring inside the mouth. Something was slithering up from the depths.

Harry felt Fawkes leap from his shoulder to take flight. At that moment, Harry remembered that Fawkes had brought something with him and quickly bent down to pick up the Sorting Hat, looking inside in hope of finding something to help him, but it was empty. He held it in his hand as he backed away from the open mouth

The serpent that emerged from Slytherin's mouth was an even brighter vivid green than the other skin and it had to be over three times the size of the cast off skin that they found in the tunnel. It headed for the being who had summoned it until they both heard Riddle's hissing voice. " _Kill him!_ "

The basilisk started turning towards Harry and he screwed his eyes shut. He could hear its heavy body slithering heavily across the dusty floor.

Eyes still tightly shut, Harry began to run blindly for where the columns were, his hands outstretched, trying to feel his way. Tom Riddle was laughing.

Harry tripped. He fell hard and tasted blood in his mouth. He could feel that the serpent was barely feet from him, and he could hear it coming closer.

He was suddenly battered a high pitched hiss that he instinctively knew indicated great pain. The next overwhelming hiss he heard from somewhere above him was an unmistakable indication of rage, followed by another shrieking hiss of pain and then, fear?

Something massive smashed into Harry and threw him into the wall.

When the expected fangs didn't rip through his body but he had been slammed into the wall a few more times as the gargantuan serpent thrashed about madly, hissing like a steam train, Harry decided that he was more at risk of being smashed flat by the flailing serpent than he was of dying by its gaze, so he cracked his eyes open.

He could see why the basilisk was thrashing about now, because Fawkes was still attacking its eyes, diving in to sink its talons into the eye and rip great gobs of the eyes out as it retreated. The basilisk was at him with fangs long and thin as sabres but it couldn't get close to him.

The serpent was enormous vivid green shape, thick as an oak trunk, it had raised itself high in the air and its great blunt head was weaving drunkenly between the pillars as it tried to catch its tormentor.

Just then it turned it turned and Harry looked straight into its eyes, before he could close his. It took him a moment to register that he wasn't dead, and that Fawkes had disabled what was probably the basilisk's deadliest weapon, because with both of its great, bulbous yellow eyes ruined by the massive chunks that the phoenix was ripping out of them, they were no longer death to look upon. The basilisk was venting its shrieking hiss of agony, and trying at get its tormentor, but Riddle was still able to command it.

" _N_ _o_ _!"_ Harry heard Riddle screaming at it. _"L_ _eave the bird_ _! L_ _eave the bird_ _! T_ _he boy is just behind you, use his scent to find him! Kill Him_!"

The blinded serpent swayed, confused but still very deadly. Fawkes was still attacking its eyes in an attempt to distract it as it tried to obey its master's commands. Harry was trying to dodge the strikes which were coming ever closer and sent out a silent prayer for assistance. At that, he suddenly felt something hard in the Sorting Hat that he still had clamped in his left hand.

Harry reached into the hat and grasped the hilt of a sword, drawing it out just before the basilisk managed to home in on him, he didn't know what senses it was using but the next strike was right on target. He twisted as the fangs came for him, reaching between them to ram the sword up through the roof of its mouth with both hands. He knew the frantic thrashing he could hear was the basilisk's death throes, but realised that it was a pyrrhic victory because he hadn't managed to avoid its fangs on that last strike.

* * *

As Harry fell back, he felt a weight on his shoulder as everything was turning grey, and he thought about everyone he'd failed. Hermione of course, they wouldn't have what they were both looking forward to, but also Angela and Remus and the rest of their family and those who had helped him. It was at that point that he realised that the burning pain from the basilisk venom was fading and he was being drawn back to the present.

As his head started to clear, he could hear Riddle taunting him.

"You're dead, Harry Potter. Dead. Even Dumbledore's bird knows it. Can you see what he's doing, Potter? He's crying."

Harry blinked. Fawke's head slid in and out of focus. Thick, pearly tears were trickling down the glossy feathers.

"I'm going to sit here and watch you die, Harry Potter. Take your time. I'm in no hurry."

Harry felt drowsy and everything around him seemed to be spinning, but he strangely felt better than he had a few minutes ago.

"So ends the famous Harry Potter." he heard Riddle's distant voice. "All alone in the Chamber of Secrets, forsaken by his friends, defeated at last by the Dark Lord he so unwisely challenged. You'll be back with your dear Mudblood mother soon, Harry... She bought you twelve years of borrowed time ... but Lord Voldemort got you in the end, as you knew he must . . . ."

If this is dying, thought Harry, it's not so bad.

But was this dying? Instead of going black, the Chamber seemed to be coming back into focus.

Harry gave his head a little shake and there was Fawkes, still resting his head on Harry's shoulder. A pearly patch of tears was shining all around the wound, except that there was no wound.

"Get away, bird!" Riddle's voice suddenly shouted. "Get away from him, I said, get away."

Harry raised his head. Riddle was pointing Harry's wand at Fawkes. There was a flash, and Fawkes took flight again in a whirl of gold and scarlet.

"Phoenix tears….." said Riddle quietly, staring at Harry's shoulder. "Of course ... their healing powers ... I forgot about that. . ."

He looked into Harry's face. "But it makes no difference. In fact, I prefer it this way. Just you and me, Harry Potter ... you and me..."

He raised the wand towards Harry….

Then, in a flash of scarlet and gold, Fawkes had swooped overhead and something was dropped beside Harry…. the diary.

For a split second, both Harry and Riddle, wand still raised, stared at it.

Then Harry held his hand over it and shouted. "Emundo!"

There was a long, dreadful, shattering, piercing scream and something oozed from the diary.

Riddle was writhing and twisting, screaming and flailing and then he had gone. Harry's wand fell to the floor with a clatter and there was silence.

* * *

Harry climbed to his feet and staggered to where his wand lay, returning to the diary to cast the detection spells over it. There was a faint residue of dark magic but no more than most objects and that scream was pretty much proof that that portion of Riddle's soul was gone. That raised another question though so Harry picked up the diary and put it in his pocket.

As he bent to pick up the Sorting Hat as well, he remembered that he must recover the sword as well and limped over to the basilisk. Fawkes' tears may have cleansed the venom from his body and healed the wound where he was pierced by the fang, but he was still hurting from all those times he'd been smashed into the wall by the basilisk's thrashing.

When he reached the basilisk he carefully reached between the fangs to grasp the hilt of the sword and wrench it out of the roof of the basilisk's mouth. He looked at the Sorting Hat and reasoned that if the sword came to him through it, it should be returned through it as well, so he carefully fed the sword into it until it disappeared.

Fawkes swept down to land on the basilisk's head and Harry smiled at him, reaching up to scratch his head. "Thanks Fawkes, you were brilliant!" he held out the Sorting Hat to him. "And thanks for this, I couldn't have survived without that sword." Fawkes' response was a happy trill as he clenched his talons onto the hat.

Then Harry turned and staggered over to where Ginny was trying to sit up. She looked dazed, but as she took in his torn and blood stained robes and the massive shape of the dead basilisk, it all came back to her and she started sobbing.

"Oh, Harry, you don't know what I've done, it's all my fault! I opened the chamber and left those messages, but Riddle took me over, he was controlling me….." She stopped and looked about, frightened. "Where's Riddle? The last thing I remember was him coming out of the diary but as he got stronger, I kept getting weaker."

Harry just held her. "Shhh, it's all right. Riddle's gone, I wiped him out of the diary, and the basilisk is dead too. Now we need to get you back to your father, he's waiting at Hogwarts."

He frowned. "That might be difficult if they haven't cleared the tunnel yet though, we better let them know we're OK too."

He looked up and called. "Dommy!"

Dommy popped up and Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "Dommy, our friends are on the other side of the collapse in that tunnel, could you get them for me please? All except Ginny's brother Ron."

With a "Yes Master Harry!" Dommy was gone, but he spent the next fifteen seconds popping in and out, depositing members of the group each time until they were all there except for Ron. Ginny jumped up and ran into Fred and George's arms while Hermione ran to hug Harry. Harry asked whether Ron noticed them leaving, but Remus's lip curled as he said that he'd been snoring away for pretty much the whole time since Harry left, he wouldn't notice a thing.

Harry nodded musingly and then turned to Dommy, asking him to get more Potter elves and see if they could bring the shed skin that was where he collected the others here. Dommy said. "Yes Master Harry." and disappeared. Less than thirty seconds later, the skin was sitting against the wall and the elves stood there, awaiting further orders. Harry nodded gratefully to them.

Harry turned to look at Ginny, casting the detection spells over her. None of them who knew what that showed were happy with what they saw, because they could see that the dark residue from Riddle's possession of her was at least half of what he'd had before it was extracted and wiped out, but they had a dilemma. The extraction and cleansing spells would be best done at Gringotts, but while they was sure that Arthur would do what was best for his daughter, if Dumbledore said otherwise because he felt that her having a connection to Riddle would serve his purpose, her mother would try to stop the extraction….

They looked at each other and Harry called for Dommy, sending him to collect Arthur from the out of order girls' bathroom in the dungeon at Hogwarts. Harry asked him to grab Arthur without anyone seeing what happened if possible. Dommy seemed to flicker and then he was standing there with a very confused Arthur, because he'd only half seen Dommy before the two of them disappeared.

Harry took over the explanation. "Arthur, Ginny was possessed by the sixteen year old Tom Riddle, who is better known as Voldemort. This was done through her getting his possessed diary, I don't know how she got that yet but that's not important at the moment. He made her open the Chamber of Secrets, release the basilisk and write those messages on the wall. Riddle is gone, I banished him by using the spell the Gringotts Curse Breakers created to destroy the fragment of Voldemort's soul that was contained in my scar on the diary. There is still residue of Riddle's soul left in Ginny, enough to be a concern. We believe that she'd be best with that removed, and we have the spells that were created to extract and destroy the soul fragments from me, but while it would be best done by the experts at Gringotts, I at least have concerns that if Ginny goes back without them being removed, Dumbledore will want to make use of that as bait for Voldemort and will get Molly to prevent them from being removed. Do you trust us enough to believe that this is best for your daughter and let us remove the remnants of Tom Riddle from her here?"

Arthur looked over at his daughter, concerned and heartbroken that she'd had to go through this, but he made the decision without question. "Yes! Please remove that stain from my daughter!"

They called Ginny and the twins over and after a tearful reunion between Ginny and her father, they explained the situation and what they wanted to do and Ginny responded with. "Yes!" even quicker than her father had. Angela and Remus performed the extraction and destruction of the remnants of Riddle's soul that had stayed in her. Unfortunately they'd forgotten to tell Ginny or her family about the screaming as the soul fragment was destroyed, but when they heard what that was, their smiles were quite satisfied.

* * *

With that out of the way, the others stopped to ask about the basilisk, and they were horrified when they saw the monster that it had grown to in over a thousand years. The skin that Dommy and the other Potter elves retrieved was daunting enough, but the basilisk was over three times that size when it died. They asked how he'd managed to kill something like that and Harry was trying to explain that he'd drawn a sword from the Sorting Hat when Fawkes swooped over him and dropped the Sorting Hat into his hands.

When he drew the sword from the Hat, Arthur gasped. "Harry, that's Godric Gryffindor's sword! It hangs in the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts."

Harry looked at the sword in awe. "Well it's a mighty sword. It killed the Basilisk with one stroke." With that, he fed the sword back into the Sorting Hat, smiling to see the Hat empty again once it had swallowed the sword. He held up the Sorting Hat to Fawkes, saying. "I hope the next time we do something together is nicer than this, but you were brilliant Fawkes, thanks!" Fawkes gave a happy trill and swooped down to pluck the Sorting Hat from Harry's hand, gaining height before he disappeared in a ball of flame.

That done, they walked out through the doors of the chamber, turning to watch them swing close and the snakes move to lock them again. Dommy popped Arthur back into the hall outside the bathroom when it was clear and he walked back in, saying that they must have missed it when he stepped out to clear his head. Then Dommy put the rest of them back into the tunnel.

When they kicked Ron awake as they headed back towards the pipe, he was too busy making sure he wasn't left behind and demanding to know when Harry and Ginny had turned up to notice that the bright green, over twenty foot long basilisk skin wasn't there any more. The fact that he'd just curled up for a nap and snored away while the rest of them were desperately trying to get through the blockage to help meant that many of them would have been happy to leave him there, none more so than his brothers.

There wasn't much talk on the way back down the tunnel, other than Ron grumbling as he brought up the rear. They'd arranged it so that Harry and Hermione set off first, followed by Ginny and the twins, then Rackbar and the rest of the Goblins, Remus and Angela levitating Lockhart's body and finally Ron, stumbling along behind and whining. None of them wanted anything to do with him, and he was too afraid of Remus, the body and the goblins to try and push past them so this gave the rest of them some breathing space.

When they got back to the pipe, Remus put his wand to his neck and invoked "Sonorus!" before calling up the pipe. "Hello? Did anyone work out a way to get us out of here?"

They heard Professor McGonagall's amplified voice coming back down the pipe. "Yes Remus. Madam Hooch will be there soon."

That told them how they'd be getting out, if it was Madam Hooch it would be brooms. Sure enough, they heard her flapping robes and laughter and brightened the Lumos spells so that she'd see where the pipe finished. She was still laughing when she popped out of the pipe and swept to a halt beside the far wall, stepping off her broom before pulling the others out of the bag she was carrying to restore them to full size.

Her laughter faltered when she saw Lockhart's body floating there, but she was disconcerted when her question about the monster getting him was met with. "No! His attempt to obliviate all of us backfired and he brought the roof of the tunnel down on himself!"

She didn't know what to say, so she just nodded and handed out the brooms. When it was agreed that Remus and Angela would fly together so that Angela could levitate the body on the way up, Ron spat. "I'm not staying behind that thing again!" and jumped on a broom and took off. They heard him hitting the walls of the pipe as he was going way too fast and the twins snickered about how he was planning at stop at the other end, which set Ginny off giggling. With Ron gone and Remus and Angela doubling up to handle the body, they only just had enough brooms, because the Goblins had to be passengers. Hermione took Ginny, because she was still too shaken to fly, and Harry, Fred, George and Madam Hooch each had a Goblin passenger.

Madam Hooch was worried when Remus suggested that she take the others up the pipe, because they were going to make sure that nothing got out of the Chamber of Secrets again. As she sent Hermione, Fred and George up the pipe, she saw the Remus and Harry's brooms heading back down the tunnel. As she left she heard powerful blasting spells going off down the tunnel, getting closer as they went, it sounded like they were collapsing the whole tunnel.

They went quietly up the pipe because it was tight flying and the goblins were nervous passengers. When Remus and Harry went up, they went even more slowly because Harry and Rackclaw were following Remus and Angela with their burden, so it took them nearly ten minutes to reach the bathroom. As soon as Harry exited the pipe, the sink rose up to close the opening, just as the doors of the Chamber of secrets had closed when the person who opened them left, this had been expected and that was why he was flying at the rear. The scene in the bathroom aggravated them as Molly was coddling Ron, who'd apparently shot out of the pipe at high speed and crashed the broom into the wall, narrowly missing Professor McGonagall and Sprout and destroying the broom.

* * *

They returned the intact school brooms to Madam Hooch and she and Madam Pomfrey left with Lockhart's body once Madam Pomfrey had assured herself that they were all healthy enough. Dumbledore insisted that Harry and Ginny come to his office at once, and of course most of the rest of them followed, including Madam Bones who had official questions for Dumbledore about his failure to report events which represented a danger to the students of Hogwarts.

Harry told the story of what had happened from when they went down the pipe, leaving out those parts that were necessary to protect Ginny and the rest of them, and he could see that Dumbledore and Molly Weasley didn't like many parts of the story.

When Dumbledore questioned how Ginny had come to be possessed, Harry explained that it was Riddle's diary from when he was a sixteen year old student at Hogwarts.

Dumbledore nodded "Brilliant," he said softly. "Of course, he was probably the most brilliant student Hogwarts has ever seen." He turned around to the Weasleys, who were looking utterly bewildered.

"Very few people know that Lord Voldemort was once called Tom Riddle. I taught him myself, fifty years ago, at Hogwarts. He disappeared after leaving the school ... traveled far and wide ... sank so deeply into the Dark Arts, consorted with the very worst of our kind, underwent so many dangerous, magical transformations, that when he resurfaced as Lord Voldemort, he was barely recognizable. Hardly anyone connected Lord Voldemort with the clever, handsome boy who was once Head Boy here."

Harry interrupted him. "Actually, no, Riddle told me that he was Voldemort when he was at Hogwarts, when he was sixteen obviously as otherwise he wouldn't have known."

"But, Ginny, what's our Ginny got to do with….with... him?" Obviously Molly hadn't been listening.

"His d-diary!" Ginny sobbed. "I've b-been writing in it, and he's been w-writing back all year…."

Arthur chided her gently. "Ginny, don't you know better than to meddle with things like that? Why didn't you tell us, tell me?"

"I d-didn't know," sobbed Ginny. " I. I thought it was from Harry at first, because it turned up in my cauldron the day he gave me Professor Lockhart's books. Then when I got here, I couldn't make any friends because I was Ron's sister and I was lonely, so when I had a chance to talk to someone through the diary it was like having a friend."

"Miss Weasley should go up to the hospital wing right away." Dumbledore interrupted in a firm voice. "This has been a terrible ordeal for her. There will be no punishment. Older and wiser wizards than she have been hoodwinked by Lord Voldemort."

He strode over to the door and opened it. "Bed rest and perhaps a large, steaming mug of hot chocolate. I always find that cheers me up," he added, twinkling kindly down at her. "You will find that Madam Pomfrey is still awake. She's just giving out Mandrake juice, I dare say the basilisk's victims will be waking up any moment."

Arthur looked like he was going to go off at that but Remus shook his head, nodding for Arthur to go with her. As Remus had never done anything to harm his kids Arthur took the advice and led Ginny out of the office.

Dumbledore took his seat behind his desk and struck a dramatic pose.

"First of all, Harry, I want to thank you," said Dumbledore, eyes twinkling again. "You must have shown me real loyalty down in the Chamber. Nothing but that could have called Fawkes to you."

Harry had to cover up a smile, because he had no doubt that Dumbledore took Fawkes' squawk as agreement but he knew it was outrage.

"And so you met Tom Riddle," said Dumbledore thoughtfully. "I imagine he was most interested in you . . . . "

Harry decided to probe the old manipulator to see what he could drag out of him. "Professor Dumbledore ... Riddle said I'm like him. Strange likenesses, he said ..."

"Did he, now?" said Dumbledore, looking thoughtfully at Harry from under his thick silver eyebrows. "And what do you think, Harry?"

"I don't think I'm like him!" Harry bit back more loudly. "I mean, I'm... I'm in Gryffindor, I'm . . ."

But he fell silent, letting himself appear uncertain.

"Professor," he started again after a moment. "The Sorting Hat told me I'd... I'd have done well in Slytherin. Everyone thought I was Slytherin's heir for a while ... because I can speak Parseltongue ..."

"You can speak Parseltongue, Harry," said Dumbledore calmly, "because Lord Voldemort….who is the last remaining descendant of Salazar Slytherin, can speak Parseltongue. Unless I'm much mistaken, he transferred some of his own powers to you the night he gave you that scar. Not something he intended to do, I'm sure ..."

"Voldemort put a bit of himself in me?" Harry said, playing shocked.

"It certainly seems so."

"So I should be in Slytherin," Harry said, looking desperately into Dumbledore's face. "The Sorting Hat could see Slytherin's power in me, and it…."

"Put you in Gryffindor," Dumbledore intoned calmly. "Listen to me, Harry. You happen to have many qualities Salazar Slytherin prized in his hand-picked students. His own very rare gift, Parseltongue, resourcefulness, determination…. a certain disregard for rules," he added, his mustache quivering again. "Yet the Sorting Hat placed you in Gryffindor. You know why that was. Think."

"It only put me in Gryffindor," said Harry in a defeated voice, "because I asked not to go in Slytherin . . . ."

"Exactly!" said Dumbledore, beaming once more. "Which makes you very different from Tom Riddle. It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." Harry sat still in his chair. "If you want proof, Harry, that you belong in Gryffindor, do you know what the sword that Fawkes brought to you was?"

Harry shook his head, playing dumb.

Dumbledore pointed to the now empty plaque on the wall behind his desk. "It was the sword of Godric Gryffindor himself! Only a true Gryffindor could have pulled that out of the hat, Harry."

"That leads me to another question, do you know what happened to the sword after you killed the basilisk with it?"

Harry shook his head. "No Professor, I put it back into the Hat and I thought that Fawkes brought it back here."

Dumbledore looked mournful. "Alas, it has not returned and the hat is empty, it would be a great loss if Gryffindor's sword were to disappear, as legend has it that it was a magical sword like its brother, Excalibur. I have asked Merlin's Hat…."

At the confused looks around the room. "I am sorry, I forget that this is not widely known, you see Hogwarts' Sorting Hat was in fact Merlin's Hat, have you never wondered how a hat can have such magical qualities?"

"Well as I said, I asked the Hat where Gryffindor's sword went and it said that it has gone back to where it belongs. I wonder if I might ask you to try again Harry? If the Hat relinquished the sword to you once, it may again?"

Harry said. "Of course Professor." and stood to walk over to the Hat, repeating 'nothing, nothing in the hat, the hat is empty' in his head as he walked. Apparently the Hat was in agreement because when he picked it up put his hand inside, it was indeed empty. He smiled apologetically to Dumbledore and as he put the hat down, he heard its voice in his head. "When you need it, you just have to call for it when you need it Potter."

* * *

Just then, Lucius Malfoy burst into the office with a house elf cowering at his heels, and Dobby was that house elf. A number of things suddenly came together in Harry's mind and he surreptitiously slipped off his shoe and sock as the drama played out around him.

"Good evening, Lucius," said Dumbledore pleasantly.

Malfoy had a look of triumph on his face as he waved a piece of parchment. "The Hogwarts board has decided that it's had enough of you putting the school's student at risk Headmaster. We're here to replace you with someone who will do the job they're supposed to."

His face dropped when Madam Bones plucked the parchment from his fingers and asked. "Is that so Mister Malfoy? Do tell, who was it who represented the Hogwarts board in this decision? Madam Potter, Madam Longbottom and myself were not even advised of this, or the decision to call for Rubeus Hagrid to be unlawfully imprisoned in Azkaban. We require to know why our houses were not contacted in either of these serious matters. Explain yourself please?"

Malfoy couldn't speak, he'd been so focussed on having his victory over Dumbledore, he hadn't even noticed who else was in the room. "I. I don't know Madam Bones…. I was just asked to bring the notice of dismissal here so that we can protect the students from what has come out of the Chamber of Secrets."

"Well that is no longer anything to worry about, the monster has been killed and the danger is no more." She held up the parchment. "This is therefore no longer necessary, but I will be holding onto it to investigate the criminal nature of what was done to Mister Hagrid and also what was being attempted today."

She raised her voice and called. "Minister Fudge?"

Fudge, who'd been hiding outside the door came in hesitantly. "Yes Amelia?"

The toad like woman in lurid pink robes who had been out there with him came into the room and drew herself up with a sense of self importance.

Amelia ignored the woman as she addressed Fudge. "Given that the illegal nature of Mister Hagrid's incarceration has now been exposed, I trust that you will be ensuring his immediate release and return to Hogwarts? We will deal with the matter of compensation being levied from all those responsible for his illegal imprisonment once Mister Hagrid is safely back to Hogwarts. I'm certain that I'll have your full cooperation in the investigation of how that happened?"

"Compensation? Illegal? I hardly think that we need to go that far Amelia…."

"But as the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, I _do_ Minister, but in the mean time, as Mister Hagrid's incarceration was apparently accomplished without any of the usual red tape, I am sure that his immediate release can be accomplished just as quickly. I dare say that it will take no more than a floo call from you? I'm sure Professor Dumbledore would be happy to give you the use of his facilities."

Fudge was sweating like a pig. "Yes, terrible business, don't know how it happened…. Albus, may I use your floo to clear this up?"

Dumbledore waved him to the floo, trying to appear in control of the situation.

In the mean time, Harry had surreptitiously showed Dobby the diary and pointed to Malfoy and Dobby nodded and then banged his head on the wall a few times. With his suspicions confirmed, Harry slipped the diary into the sock he'd just removed and stood up.

"Mister Malfoy."

Malfoy jerked his head around to look at him. "What do you want boy?"

Harry held out the sock covered diary. "I have discovered something that belongs to you and wish to return it."

Malfoy snatched it off him, saying. "What are you talking about you stupid b…..."

He froze when he saw the cover and realised that this was Tom Riddle's diary, the one he'd dropped in the Weasley girl's cauldron when he was arguing with her father. This made him so distracted that he automatically threw the sock at Dobby like he would any other refuse, but he suddenly realised that he couldn't be seen anywhere near that diary and threw it back at Harry.

"I've never seen that before in my life boy! It's got nothing to do with me!"

"Are you sure Sir? I'm sure I remember seeing you put it in Ginny Weasley's cauldron."

"I just told you that I've never seen it before!"

He raised his hand to strike the boy but saw Madam Bones and two others that he hadn't noticed before, the Potter Regent and Remus Lupin, going for their wands, so he whirled about and went to kick Dobby towards the door as he headed for that way. When the elf had the gall to dodge his kick, he stopped and reached for his wand to punish him properly but was stopped by his words.

"Master has given a sock!" said the elf in wonderment. "Master gave it to Dobby!"

"What's that?" spat Mr. Malfoy. "What did you say?"

"Got a sock, socks is clothes" said Dobby in disbelief. "Master threw it at Dobby, and Dobby caught it, Dobby…. Dobby is free."

Lucius Malfoy stood frozen, staring at the elf, then he lunged at Harry.

"You've lost me my servant, boy!"

But Dobby shouted, "You shall not harm Harry Potter!" as he made a gesture and Malfoy was thrown backward. He crashed down the stairs and landed in a crumpled heap at the bottom. He got up, his face livid, and pulled out his wand, but Amelia's voice rang out.

"Malfoy! Are you really stupid enough to try and to attack a minor, who is also the head of a Noble and Most Ancient House, right in front of the Director of the DMLE?"

Malfoy whirled and stalked off with a muffled curse.

* * *

Fudge had taken this in after he made the call to start the process to have Hagrid released and returned to Hogwarts. Lucius Malfoy was one of his biggest contributors, but he knew that standing up for him in front of these people would be very foolish. He also thought that he needed to start thinking about getting some new supporters.

"Yes, Hagrid should be freed in the next few days and will be back here before you know it…."

"What was that Minister? I thought that we agreed that Mister Hagrid was going to be freed _immediately_?"

"Now Amelia, these things take time, we can't just snap our fingers and have him out like that…."

"Why not, that was how that innocent man was locked up!" She turned and strode to the floo, throwing a handful of powder in the fireplace and calling out Ausgusta's name.

"Madam Longbottom, we need to hold an emergency session of the Wizengamot tonight. The DMLE will be bringing Prisoner Rubeus Hagrid in from Azkaban for this session."

She listened to Augusta's response. "Yes, he is the one who was grabbed and thrown into Azkaban immediately without any involvement from the DMLE. The matter of the Chamber of Secrets and Slytherin's monster has now been resolved and it has been proven that he had nothing to do with it, but apparently getting him released is something that will require a long involved process and I am concerned that something may happen to him in the interim." She listened again "Thank you Madam Longbottom, I will notify Madam Potter that her presence in the session is requested."

When she finished that call, she made a follow up call to her office to deliver Hagrid to the Ministry for an emergency session of the Wizengamot that night. She ignored Fudge, his toady and Dumbledore as she turned to Angela. "Madam Potter, your attendance is requested at an emergency session of the Wizengamot tonight, a man has been illegally incarcerated and now that we have proof that he is innocent, we wish to ensure that he is cleared in court, freed and returned to his position at the school before any _accidents_ may happen to him."

Angela nodded formally. "Certainly Madam Bones, I will make myself available."

Amelia also nodded. "My thanks Madam Potter, might I also ask if Lord Potter could be present at this session? The offences that the man was falsely accused of are related to something that Lord Potter is uniquely qualified to inform the Wizengamot about."

Angela nodded again. "I am certain that Lord Potter will be more than willing to help in any way to have this matter resolved with all dispatch."

Amelia nodded again and swept out of the office. Angela tapped Harry on the shoulder and she and Remus led him out as well, the twins following them. Harry indicated for Dobby to come with them. Fudge, his toady, Dumbledore, Molly and Ron Weasley remained in the office, wondering what had just happened.

Dobby was ecstatic when Harry asked if he'd like to help out around Potter Tower for a while.

* * *

Amelia wasn't surprised to see that Fudge, Dumbledore and Malfoy were absent from the emergency Wizengamot session, as if they were there they'd be called to answer a lot of questions that they didn't have any suitable answers to. If they had been in the chamber when Harry testified under Veritaserum about Hagrid being taken away, what Riddle told him about framing Hagrid, possessing Ginny, killing the basilisk and destroying the possessed diary, they might very well have been put on trial themselves.

The others on the board who'd gone along with Malfoy to get Hagrid sent to Azkaban who'd actually turned up for the session were too afraid of potential backlash to argue or vote against the two thousand galleons apiece that everyone involved in the matter were ordered to pay to Hagrid when the matter was pushed through. They reasoned that paying two thousand galleons was a far lighter punishment than what it could have been.

* * *

The next day, Harry was called back to Dumbledore's office. He took Angela and Remus with him of course and Dumbledore was ranting because Madam Hooch had told him about them collapsing the tunnel before they came back up the pipe. Dumbledore had been having dreams of the mountains of gold that could be had from harvesting the carcass of the basilisk that they'd described, not to mention what other treasures he expected Salazar Slytherin to have left in his secret chamber. He'd been planning on making Harry open the entrance to the chamber and sending a team down to clear the blockage where Lockhart had brought the roof down straight away, but now Madam Hooch had told him that they'd collapsed the entire tunnel, which meant that he couldn't get to _his_ treasures.

Angela just stared him down. "As regent of the House of Potter, the safety and well being of Lord Potter is my primary responsibility. I have also been given responsibility for the seven other children in what is generally known within Hogwarts as the Potter Group. I am certain that I do not need to remind you that the heirs of the Noble and Ancient Houses of Longbottom and Bones are part of this group Headmaster. While Lord Potter somehow managed to slay the basilisk that was let into Hogwarts by a student who was possessed by Tom Riddle, we do not know whether any other monsters still remain in that Chamber. Therefore, it was the opinion of Lord Potter, his Champion and myself that the best way to safeguard my charges and the rest of the students at Hogwarts was to ensure that nothing could escape from the Chamber of Secrets ever again."

Dumbledore was almost frothing at the mouth. "You had no authority, no right to make that decision! What was in the chamber belonged to Hogwarts and you have stolen that from me, from Hogwarts."

Angela was having a hard time keeping her amusement under wraps. "I fail to see how you could come to that conclusion Professor, after all, we were taught by Professor Binns, here at Hogwarts, that the Chamber of Secrets, if it existed, had nothing to do with Hogwarts. In fact it was a private project of Salazar Slytherin which was completely at odds with the principles of Hogwarts and that was part of what he left Hogwarts over. Furthermore, whatever is left of the Chamber is underneath Black lake, which puts it well outside the boundaries of Hogwarts' property. As I said, I fail to see how anyone can believe that Hogwarts has any claim to Salazar Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets."

Frustrated, Dumbledore jumped to his feet and hurried across to Fawkes' perch. "Fawkes, you have been to the Chamber of Secrets, take me there now!"

There was no way to mistake the refusal in Fawkes' response and this pushed Dumbeldore to shouting. " _I am your master, you must obey me!_ " Fawkes refused again, and then burst into flames, but unlike the previous time, only a few days prior, no newborn phoenix came poking its head up through the ashes. Dumbledore dropped to his knees and started frantically scattering the ashes, but there was nothing there. Albus Dumbledore had been rejected and abandoned by his phoenix, and that was a telling condemnation of the state of the soul of Albus Dumbledore.

Angela shook her head and she, Harry and Remus got up to leave the office. Dumbledore was desperate to have something go his way and he turned around, still on his knees, and shrieked. "Potter! I order you to open the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets for me!"

Angela was a frightening figure as she responded to that. " _Order_ , _Mister_ Dumbledore? I seriously suggest that you apologise to Lord Potter! Having been the Chief Wizard of the British Wizengamot, I would expect you to understand the ramifications of someone who is but a _minor_ member of a _minor_ family taking such a stance against the Head of one of the most powerful of the Noble and Most Ancient Houses. In view of what has just happened here, we will be lenient. We will give you one day to make a public apology to Lord Potter, otherwise we will be pursuing satisfaction through official channels."

She put her hand on Harry's shoulder and directed him out of the room. When they reached Potter tower they had another surprise though, Hermione ran up to grab Harry's hand and drag him into his room the moment they arrived, and there on his bed was the reborn Fawkes. They had heard his flaming entry into Harry's room and they'd all rushed in, but Hermione was the only one that he'd allow to touch him, until Harry arrived anyway. There was no question of the joy and acceptance in Fawkes' response as Harry stroked his head. Harry now had a phoenix.

Harry could tell that Hedwig was worried about what would happen to her now that he had a phoenix, so he spent some time, giving her attention and talking to her to explain that her place in his life wasn't going to change, he still needed her for all the same things and she was still one of his first friends, he wasn't ever going to forget that.

He couldn't help smiling when Hermione came up to say. "See Hedwig, we still have our places in his life, he's just adding another chum, he still needs his girls!" As she was scratching Hedwig's head and saying this, Hedwig was leaning into it with a contented expression, his girls were bonding.

 **A/N: The spells mentioned in regard to extracting and destroying Riddle/Voldemort's soul fragments in the horcruxes.**

 **Expellere Tenebris - Expel Dark - to extract the soul fragments.**

 **Emundo – Cleanse – to destroy**

 **Plus another little fun one which I'm looking forward to testing against Death Eaters and Moldymort, and possibly Inferi as well, given that they're driven by dark magic?**

 **Perdere Tenebris - Destroy Dark – ashes to ashes**


	9. Get Away From My Daughter

**If you're fans of Molly or Ron, you won't like this chapter. You have been warned.**

 **NB: I'm compressing COS & POA into one year here, so they dealt with the Chamber of Secrets just after the Christmas break in this version.**

 **Usual disclaimers, no rights to any characters portrayed and this is neither the real world nor a Disney Princess tale.**

At breakfast, the morning after the emergency Wizengamot session to free Hagrid and return him to Hogwarts, Harry and the others were surprised to see him sitting at the High Table, along with a very strange and angry looking scarred man. As soon as Dumbledore decided that he had enough of an audience (which just happened to be just after Harry and the rest of them had entered and sat down), he stood to make his announcements.

"After an another accident with one of the creatures that were in his charge Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, has decided to retire in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than our own Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his gamekeeping duties..."

" _Also_ , as I am sure many of you have heard, we have unfortunately lost Professor Lockhart, our Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, who died heroically in the mission to save one of our students from the monster in the Chamber of Secrets…."

He paused at the angry muttering that was coming from the group at the other end of the Gryffindor table and then waved at the strange looking scarred man at the High Table.

"Mister Alistor Moody, who was legend in the Ministry of Magic's Auror Office before he retired, has graciously agreed to take over from Professor Lockhart, please join me in welcoming him…."

There was a smattering of polite applause that only seemed to make Moody angrier, as he stood up and stomped his way out of the Great Hall.

When they mentioned Moody to Angela and Tonks later, they confirmed that he was indeed a legend in the Auror's office, which led them to wonder whether Defence Against the Dark Arts might actually get taught properly now?

* * *

The next day was Hagrid's first Care of Magical Creatures class, and he was out to make a good first impression. As fate may have it, the Third Year class that all of them but the twins were in was the first one off the mark, and he was happy to see some friendly faces in his first class. There was a table with large, impressive green books stacked on it off to one side and Hagrid called out for each of them to take one because this was the new text book for the class. Harry picked one up, but he hardly had time to read the gold lettering which announced that this was The Monster Book of Monsters before it bucked in his hands and snapped at him.

All around, students were struggling with the books as they started to attack them, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Hagrid's amusement at what he thought would be a great joke quickly turn to concern. Hagrid shouted. "Stroke the spines, stroke the spines!" as he grabbed a book off a nearby student and ran his thick finger down the spine. When he did this, the book suddenly stopped struggling and fell open to sit quietly. In a few minutes, everyone had done this and a feeling of relief fell over the group.

Harry was standing back, next to Hagrid and heard him mutter. "Well that didn't go as planned, did it? I thought these books would be a laugh, I did." Trying to break him out of his mood, Harry asked. "Where did these books come from Hagrid?"

Hagrid looked at him. "I got them sent up from Flourish & Blotts, I did Harry. I ordered enough to cover everyone who's doin' Magical Creatures. It were nice, it were, bein' able to just order the books and get 'em paid from me vault with a few floo calls, never had the gold to do what I wanted like that before, I didn't."

Harry smiled up at him. "Yes, it is nice Hagrid, but don't spend all of your gold on things like this, keep it to look after yourself."

"I'll do that, I will. Thanks Harry."

Then he raised his voice. "If you've all got your books, head over to der fence over there and I'll go and get yer Magical Creatures for yer." With that he turned and walked into the Forbidden Forest where it came up close to his cottage.

The class wandered over to the fence, chatting, but turned and looked when one of the girls squealed.

Trotting toward them were a dozen rather bizarre creatures. They had the bodies, hind legs, and tails of horses, but the front legs, wings, and heads of what seemed to be giant eagles, with big, steel-grey beaks and large, orange eyes. The talons on their front legs were six inches long and looked deadly.

Each of these beasts had a thick leather collar around its neck, with long chain leashes that were being held by Hagrid, who came jogging into the paddock behind the creatures, shaking the chains and urging the creatures up toward the fence where the class were standing. They all drew back a little when Hagrid came up and tethered the creatures to the fence.

"Hippogriffs!" Hagrid cried happily, waving a hand at the beasts. "Beau'iful, aren' they?"

Once you got over the first shock of seeing something that was half bird and half horse, Harry had to agree. He could appreciate the hippogriffs' gleaming coats, with feathers merging smoothly into hair as you went back and every second one was a different colour, white, stormy gray, bronze, pinkish roan, gleaming chestnut, and inky black.

"So," said Hagrid, beaming as he rubbed his hands together. "if ye wan', ye come a bit closer now….?"

He didn't get any takers initially, so Harry, Hermione and the others approached the fence cautiously.

"Now, firs' thing ye gotta know aboot hippogriffs is, they're proud." said Hagrid. "Easily offended, hippogriffs are. So don't never insult one, 'cause that could be the last thing ye do."

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had come down to Hagrid's cottage, even though they had no place here as Second years. Harry looked at Remus, who nodded, but his attention was more on the hippogriffs because he hadn't seen one since he was at Hogwarts himself.

"Ye always wait fer the hippogriff ter make the firs' move," Hagrid continued. "It's polite, see? Ye walk toward him, and ye bow, an' ye wait. If he bows back, yoor allowed ter touch him. If he doesn' bow, then back away from him sharpish, 'cause those talons hurt, they do."

"Right - who wants to go first?"

Most of the students stepped back again, and Harry and the others hesitated to make a move as well.

The hippogriffs were tossing their heads and flexing their powerful wings, they didn't seem to like being tethered like this at all.

"No one?" asked Hagrid, pleadingly.

"I'll do it," said Harry.

He could hear the gasps and whispers behind him but ignored them as he climbed over the paddock fence.

"Good man, Harry!" cried Hagrid. "Right then, let's see how ye get on with Buckbeak."

He untied one of the chains, moving the big gray hippogriff away from the others, and removed its leather collar. The students on the other side of the fence seemed to be holding their breath.

"Easy now, Harry," said Hagrid quietly. "You've got eye contact, now try not ter blink... Hippogriffs don' trust ye if ye blink too much.…"

Of course, Harry's eyes immediately began to water at that, but he didn't shut them.

Buckbeak had turned his great head and was staring at Harry with one fierce orange eye. "Tha's it," Hagrid said quietly. "Tha's it, Harry... now, bow."

Harry didn't feel much like exposing the back of his neck to that beak, but he did as he was told.

He gave a short bow and then looked up.

The hippogriff was still staring haughtily at him. It didn't move.

"Ah." Hagrid sounded worried.

"Right then, back away now Harry, easy does it….."

But then, to Harry's surprise, the hippogriff bent its scaly front knees and sank into what was an unmistakable bow.

"Well done, Harry!" Hagrid cried, ecstatic. "Right, now ye can touch him! Pat his beak, go on!"

Not feeling overly sure about this, Harry moved slowly toward the hippogriff and reached out to it. He patted the beak several times and the hippogriff closed its eyes lazily, as though enjoying it.

"Righ' then, Harry," said Hagrid. "I reckon he just might' let ye ride him!"

What, ride him? Hagrid hadn't said anything about that! He could handle a broomstick, but he seriously doubted that a hippogriff would be the same.

"Ye climb up there, jus' behind the wing joint." Hagrid pointed to the spot. "an' mind ye don' pull any of his feathers out, he won' like that at all.…"

Harry put his foot on the top of Buckbeak's wing and hoisted himself onto its back. As soon as he was seated, Buckbeak stood up. Harry wasn't sure where to hold on, because everything in front of him was covered with feathers.

"Go on, then'" Hagrid shouted, slapping the hippogriff's hindquarters.

Without warning, Buckbeak's twelve-foot wings flapped open on either side of Harry, and he just had time to seize the hippogriff around the neck before he was bounding upward. It was nothing like a broomstick, and Harry had already decided which one he preferred. The hippogriff's wings beat uncomfortably on either side of him, catching him under his legs and making him feel as though he was going to be thrown off. The glossy feathers slipped under his fingers and he didn't dare get a stronger grip, and to make matters worse, instead of the smooth motion of a broom he was rocking backward and forward as the hindquarters of the hippogriff rose and fell with its wings.

Buckbeak flew him once around the paddock and then headed back to the ground, and this was the bit Harry had been dreading. He leaned back as the smooth neck lowered, feeling like he was going to slip off over the beak, then felt a heavy thud as the miss-matched feet hit the ground. He just managed to hold on and push himself upright again.

"Good work, Harry!" roared Hagrid as everyone else in the class cheered. "Okay, who else wants a go?"

Emboldened by Harry's success, the rest of the class climbed cautiously into the paddock. Hagrid untied the hippogriffs one by one, and soon people were bowing nervously to the great creatures all over the paddock.

Hermione and the others worked with the chestnut and the black ones while Harry watched. For some reason no-one else seemed anxious to try a flight like Harry did.

No-one was paying any attention to Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, because they weren't part of the class, but they'd approached Buckbeak. He had bowed to Malfoy, who was now patting his beak, looking disdainful.

It wasn't until they heard Malfoy's sneering comment that they realised that they'd taken it on themselves to approach the hippogriff.

"This is so easy, I knew it must have been, after all if Potter could do it.… Anyone can! I bet you're not really dangerous at all, are you?" he said to the hippogriff. "Are you, you great ugly brute?"

They didn't see what Malfoy did, but Buckbeak's response came in a flash of steely talons. Malfoy let out a highpitched scream and next moment, Hagrid was wrestling Buckbeak back into his collar as he strained to get at Malfoy, who lay curled in the grass with blood flowing over his robes.

"I'm dying!" Malfoy yelled as the class panicked. "I'm dying, look at me! It's killed me!"

"Yer not dyin'!" Hagrid had gone very white. "Someone help me, gotta get him outta here…"

Hermione ran to hold open the gate as Hagrid lifted Malfoy easily. As they passed, Harry saw that there was a long, deep gash on Malfoy's arm and blood splattered the grass and Hagrid ran with him, up the slope toward the castle.

Very shaken, the Care of Magical Creatures class followed at a walk. Some of the Slytherins were shouting up a tirade about Hagrid. "They should fire him straight away!"

Harry wasn't going to let them try that on. "It was Malfoy's fault! He had no place being there, let alone approaching the hippogriff and provoking it!"

Hermione asked "Do you think he'll be all right?" nervously.

"Course he will. Madam Pomfrey can mend cuts in about a second," Harry had had far worse injuries than that mended magically by the nurse.

"That was a bad thing to happen in Hagrid's first class, though, wasn't it?" Neville looked worried. "Trust Malfoy to mess things up for him.…"

Harry shook his head. "Malfoy had no right to be there! There's a reason they don't start these classes until Third year, the creatures are dangerous and must be treated with respect! He never came around when Professor Kettleburn was giving the classes, he's just trying to cause problems for Hagrid because his father couldn't hit back at Madam Bones when she made a fool of him and everyone else who was involved in his illegal imprisonment!"

Hermione asked "They wouldn't fire him, would they?"

Neville was glad that Harry wasn't thinking of him with that look in his eye as he responded. "If they try they'll have quite a fight on their hands, and I'll be insisting that Draco Bloody Malfoy is publicly questioned under Veritaserum about what he was doing there, under who's orders and what he was told to do. I won't let them with play people's lives for their power games!"

As expected, Malfoy was playing up his injuries and Snape and Dumbledore were going along with him. He had his arm swaddled in bandages even though Madam Pomfrey had everything healed inside half an hour. Harry got most of the students who were actually in the class to give their version of what happened to Professor McGonagall, as the Deputy Headmistress, even a few of the Slytherins did, and she also got a report from Madam Pomfrey about what Malfoy's injuries were and that they were totally healed before he left the infirmary. Then they just sat back and waited to see what game Lucius Malfoy and his crowd were trying to play.

* * *

A few days after Ginny Weasley was rescued from the Chamber of Secrets, Madam Bones had Arthur Weasley in her office. This wasn't Arthur Weasley like she'd ever seen him before though, he was shaking so much with barely controlled rage that he could hardly set the vials that he took from his pocket on her desk, or speak.

Amelia had to send for a healer to give him a calming draft to settle him down enough to tell her what he was there for. When he did, she quite understood his rage.

"Director, I would like these potions to be officially tested, and I would also like to sign whatever forms are necessary to have three of my children officially questioned under Veritaserum and tested for compulsion or memory charms. The children in question are Percival, Ronald and Ginevra Weasley."

He drew a breath before continuing, this was obviously difficult. "My daughter, Ginevra, has told me that she was instructed to get Harry Potter to take this potion and take this potion herself, and she also informed me that my son Ronald was going to get Hermione Granger to take this potion."

"Ginevra said that my wife told her that what she'd have to do would hurt at first but it would be nice after that, and it would be really good for the family. Apparently, an agreement was made that Ronald is to keep Miss Granger occupied until Ginevra has Lord Potter locked in to a marriage, and then he could do whatever he wanted with her. Ginevra has heard Ronald laughing to Percival about being able to get his hands on some extra gold even sooner this way."

It was Amelia who now had to get herself under control before she could respond with any semblance of calm. "Could you confirm how old Ginevra is, please, Arthur? And also, what is Percival's role in this matter?"

"Ginevra is eleven, she turns twelve in August. Ginevra has told me that Percival is part of this plot, he was telling her when and where to do things to get Lord Potter's attention and he was trying to keep Ronald in line so that he didn't do anything to interfere with the scheme."

Amelia had to wait a while before she could speak again. "I'm afraid that I just cannot understand how any woman could even consider doing this to her own eleven year old daughter, or find any way to forgive it. By the way, 'line' is an important word in this matter Arthur, as Lord Potter and Miss Granger are already magically betrothed, so this automatically becomes a line theft issue."

Arthur's mouth worked as if he was trying not to throw up. "Do you think that I can think about this without wanting to do something drastic to that woman? That's my little girl Amelia!" He paused to get himself under control. "On the line theft issue though, I'm happy to throw everything possible at them, but what about the betrothal contract, wouldn't that negate that charge?"

Amelia shook her head. "Not unless Lord Potter had already become betrothed to Ginevra, acceptance for consideration is just that, the house has only indicated that they're considering the prospect, they have committed to nothing binding. Quite aside from that, from what you have said they are reportedly planning on interfering with and prostituting Lord Potter's current betrothed, and the line theft laws are _very_ clear on that."

She hesitated. "Arthur, have you spoken with Harry about Ginevra becoming a vassal of House Potter so that she can get the same protection as Padma from House Potter? Also, if she is willing to put the work in, Ginny becoming part of the Potter group would do wonders for her education, as well as putting her in a safe environment….. We would have to get these proceedings commenced before she moved to the Potter group though because that would give the game away…" She hesitated again. "I must ask though, is there any reason to believe that you are not legally entitled to provide parental consent for the use of Veritaserum and tests?"

Arthur now looked a little relieved. "No, I hadn't thought of the vassal issue, I will speak to Harry as soon as I can, thank you….. On the other, not officially, no. I take it you know about the discussions we have had on that matter?"

Amelia nodded. "Yes, Auror Tonks reports to me and she quite rightly believed that it was her duty to report that she was collecting the evidence needed for these paternity tests for your son, Bill."

Arthur nodded at that. "Of course. Yes, with Auror Tonks' assistance we have unofficially confirmed that I am Ginny's father, along with Bill, Charlie, Fred and George's."

"And Percival and Ronald?"

"Apparently Percival's father is Bartemius Crouch and Ronald's father is Cornelius Fudge. But all the records show that I am their father and thanks to Auror Tonks, as far as anyone else knows I have no idea that that's not the truth. Perhaps we could find a way to require these tests to be officially done at Saint Mungo's as part of the investigation or trial so we can have their paternity officially and publicly established then? That will give me ample reason to cast that woman out and legally banish her and her sons from the Weasley family!"

Amelia smiled at that, a grim smile, but a smile. "I believe that we can manage that, for now we'll just get those forms so you can complete and sign them for your children, and we'll get these potions tested by the lab….." She hesitated. "You do realise that the potion that your daughter was told to take is almost certainly a fertility potion, don't you Arthur?"

He nodded grimly. "Yes. The surest way to trap Harry into marrying her so that she becomes his first wife, and therefore Lady Potter, would be to have him get my little girl pregnant. What Molly said to her only confirmed that. I expect what she was supposed to get Harry to take will also include a fertility potion to further improve the chances."

As she was sending the vials to the lab for official testing as part of an attempted line theft among other things case and having Arthur fill out the forms, Amelia had a Bones house elf take a message to Susan to tell Harry that she and Arthur Weasley needed to see him, Hermione and Angela in her office urgently.

Harry popped up with Hermione and Angela within five minutes, and five minutes after that Amelia was wondering whether the wards for her office would be able to contain the magic that was pulsing off of Harry in his rage. Hermione finally managed to get him calmed down, and they were surprised and heart warmed to hear that his first question was whether Ginny was alright.

When Arthur broached the issue about Ginny getting the protection of House Potter as a vassal and joining the Potter group, after getting Hermione and Angela's agreement (this was no more than a look, which was answered with "Of course!"), Harry had Tally bring Ginny to Amelia's office. Ginny answered all the questions under Veritaserum, and the DMLE's expert found evidence of the remains of a compulsion charm that had been put on her.

Angela tested her as well on that and advised them that the remains of the compulsion charm had Albus Dumbledore's magical signature on them. Once the expert had left, they explained what her father had requested to Ginny and she happily swore homage and fealty to Lord Potter while Arthur signed the agreements for her to join the Potter group. They also discussed what might have removed part of the compulsion charm and Angela, Harry and Hermione agreed that it was most likely a happy side effect of the spell they'd used to extract the remnants of Tom Riddle's soul from her.

With that, Harry, Hermione, Angela and Ginny popped back to Hogwarts while Amelia and Arthur went via the floo network to Hogsmeade to then walk into Hogwarts with the DMLE experts for questioning under Veritaserum and testing for compulsion and memory charms. The lack of any evidence of compulsion or memory charms on either Percy or Ron was quite telling, and made the evidence they gave under Veritaserum all the more damning. That evidence was quite enough to have Molly Weasley picked up and taken to the Ministry immediately for in depth questioning under Veritaserum.

Amelia was a little disappointed to find that, while Molly testified that Dumbledore knew of part of what she had in mind and had cast the compulsion charm on Ginny illegally, there was no clear evidence linking him to the line theft plot. Molly herself, however, had a mountain of evidence against her, which was only compounded by the fact that there was nothing at all to show that any compulsion or memory charms ever having been used on her. Her guilt was further confirmed when the potions tested were shown to be strong love and lust potions focussed on Ginny and a fertility potion for Harry, a strong lust potion focussed on Harry and a fertility potion for Ginny and strong love and lust potions focussed on Ron for Hermione. She had obviously decided that Ginny's infatuation with Harry made a love potion unnecessary. They found the makings and instructions for these potions at the Burrow.

A question was slipped in while Molly was under the Veritaserum to get her to admit that Ron was Fudge's son, and that was used as justification to order that blood line tests be performed on all of Molly Weasley's children at St Mungos to confirm that Arthur was in fact entitled to have custody of the children. Arthur did a good job of acting shocked and mortified to find that two of 'his' sons had actually been sired by Bartemius Crouch Senior and Cornelius Fudge. Arthur's marriage to Molly was terminated and she was stripped of the Weasley name and any connection to the Weasley family. It was further ruled that she was not entitled to besmirch the memory or name of the Prewett family, so she went to Azkaban as Molly No-Name.

With the Crouch line supposedly dying out when his only son died in Azkaban, Barty Crouch recognised Percy as his son to continue his line, so Percy became Percival Ignatius Crouch. Fudge was still clinging to his political aspirations, but he was stupid enough to believe what he read in the Daily Prophet so he jumped at the chance of claiming as his son, 'The Hero who saved his sister and slew the monster in the Chamber of Secrets' while he could get good publicity from it, so Ron quickly became Ronald Bilius Fudge. This was the cause of more than a few fights at Hogwarts, which saw Ginny involved even more often than the twins when people, and in particular Snape, insisted on continuing to call Percy and Ron 'Weasley'.

When Arthur cleaned out the Burrow prior to selling it, he sent all of Molly's and Ron's things to Percy to deal with as he saw fit. It took Arthur a while to swallow his pride and accept that the best way for them to put Molly, Percy and Ron behind them was to get rid of the house that held far too many memories of them and move into Potter Manor. He certainly couldn't argue that there wasn't enough room, because they hardly used the ground and first floor when all of the extended family were there, and the thought that Ginny especially would be protected by the strength of the wards at Potter Manor was a good selling point for the loving father. Angela quietly pointing out that having the twins and Ginny there would be good for Harry, because he'd spent too much of his life alone, was the final incentive to get Arthur to agree.

* * *

At Hogwarts, Ginny quickly settled into Potter Tower and the Potter group and shot from being a good student to an outstanding one almost straight away. Intrigued and a little concerned, they looked into it and found that being possessed by 'the most brilliant student Hogwarts has ever seen' had left Ginny with a lot of his talents and ability, just as Harry had acquired a lot from having a small fragment of Riddle's soul attached to him.

As they still had half of the school year available, Remus and Angela asked Luna and Ginny whether they were ready to put in the extra effort to get them ready to do the Second year exams at the end of the year do that they could skip over Second year and go straight into Third year like the others had, and the girls jumped at the chance. Even without the myriad other good reasons for them to want that, it would get them away further from Ron Fudge, and that was probably reason enough in itself. While too young to be formally charged with attempted line theft or the other things he was guilty of, Ronald Fudge was proscribed from having any direct contact with Hermione or anyone else associated with the House of Potter, but Ginny and Luna were still in some of the same classes as he was, which made it uncomfortable for the girls.

While they were discussing Ginny's integration into the Potter Group, Angela looked thoughtful and went off to see Madam Bones in her role as the Director of the DMLE. The proposal that the two women came back to Harry and Padma with was surprising, to say the least. Padma had been growing more and more concerned about what would happen at the end of the school year when she had to go home for the summer break, because she expected to be punished for failing to follow through on what she had been instructed and trained to do by her parents to ensure that she would be marrying Lord Potter.

She was also drawing ever further away from her twin, because Pavati couldn't see anything wrong with what their parents expected of Padma and told her that she should do what was required of her. Padma had also been concerned when Pavati quietly told her. "Don't knock it until you've tried it Pad, some of that stuff is really fun!" This meant that Padma no longer felt any real connection to anyone in her family.

What Angela and Amelia were suggesting was that they instigate an investigation into another case of attempted line theft against the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter by the Patil family. Just as Ginny had been held to be entirely blameless in the case of attempted line theft that she was involved in (as shown by the fact that her betrothal contract with Harry was still accepted for consideration by House Potter), because she was the one who rebelled against it and instigated the investigation by coming forward about what she was expected to do, Padma had come forward of her own free will and informed Lord Potter of what she had been instructed and trained to do.

This made Padma blameless in the charge of attempted line theft, but made it clear that the Patils were guilty. With Padma telling everything about what she was instructed, pressured and trained to do and how often she was questioned by her father about how she was progressing with the plan under Veritaserum, the case against her family was incontestable, in Magical Britain where the crime occurred anyway. The fact that Padma had pledged homage and fealty to Lord Potter when she informed him of what her family was trying to make her do meant that she was now a vassal of the House of Potter and one of the outcomes of the conviction of her family would be the separation of Padma, as a Potter vassal, from the Patil family. Luna's father was delighted to offer to adopt Padma and give her a family name when she lost the Patil name.

Padma's father was a lot brighter than Molly No-Name though, and at the first sign of the DMLE looking into the matter, he and his family packed up and ran back to India, leaving Padma and Pavati as the only Patils in Magical Britain. Nor was being notified that the House of Potter had rejected the betrothal contract for his daughters while the case against his family was progressing a surprise to him. This case didn't take long to resolve because the wizard sent to representation the Patils was thrown out of the Wizengamot and they were automatically found guilty when he admitted that the defendants had fled the country. When case was concluded, there were no Patils in Magical Britain because Padma had become Padma Lovegood and Pavati had gone back to India as her parents could never set foot in Magical Britain again without being thrown in Azkaban.

Padma was a witch of considerable intelligence and political savvy for her age, and at her suggestion, as soon as she was adopted into House Lovegood, Xenophilius offered a betrothal contract for either or both of her and Luna to Harry, which Angela accepted for consideration on behalf of House Potter. This protected both the girls and House Potter against attempts to use them to influence or lash out at House Potter by other parties. At the same time, Amelia offered a betrothal contract for Susan to Neville for the same reasons, which Augusta accepted for consideration on behalf of House Longbottom. The protection afforded by this contract only differed in that it protected the Noble and Ancient Houses of Longbottom _and_ Bones.

* * *

While all of this was going on, there was a minor war going on between The Daily Prophet and the Quibbler. Reporters from the Ministry's favourite rag, The Daily Prophet, descended on Hogwarts to get all the juicy details about the Chamber of Secrets and how the monster was killed the day after Ginny was rescued. The only one who would talk to those vultures was Ron, so it was his fanciful version about how he'd saved the day, rescued his sister and of course killed the monster that was spread across the front page. Of course, all great wizards have a familiar, Professor Dumbledore had his phoenix, even Harry Bloody Potter had his owl, so he posed for his pictures proudly holding his rat, Scabbers.

The Prophet's photographer had been upset about not being able to get a picture of him with the sister who he had so bravely saved, but he lucked out when he snuck into the infirmary and managed to grab a picture of a pale and distraught looking Ginny Weasley in a hospital bed before Madam Pomfrey chased him out. That worked in quite nicely with the story so that was the picture that went on the front page below Ron's.

Harry tried to get the others to let it go as the pathetic joke that it was, but the twins weren't about to let Ron get away with claiming credit for this when Harry was the one who did it all while bloody Won Won was peacefully snoring away on the other side of the tunnel blockage that had been caused by him first being stupid enough to bring bloody Lockhart along and _t_ _hen_ letting Lockhart grab his busted wand off of him. They got Luna to get someone to write up the real story, well as much of it as they could share without giving away anything that should stay quiet anyway, and Luna had her father run it on the front page of The Quibbler the next day.

Angry that The Quibbler had the gall to say that everything that they'd published was complete bollocks, The Daily Prophet attacked the credibility of the twins, saying if Harry Potter had indeed been the one who did these things, he would have talked to the reporters of the only reputable newspaper in Magical Britain and bringing up stories about pranks and escapades of the twins from the past as well. Xenophilius was having great fun baiting the Prophet and just kept coming back with factual and damning responses to anything they or the Ministry came up with on the subject.

This went on for months, right through both of the attempted line theft cases that were pursued on behalf of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter, because Xenophilius would often leave his response until he needed to fill up the paper, so 'the Chamber War' was set aside whenever there was something that he considered more interesting to go in the Quibbler. Xenophilius wasn't about to give up having his fun, and the Prophet wasn't about to back down either, especially after the Hero of the Secret Chamber that they were supporting turned out to be Minister Fudge's son.

While the Quibbler might not reach every corner of Magical Britain though, the Prophet did, especially where the Ministry's people were. That was how a copy of the front page with Ron's picture and the article about how the Minster's son had saved Harry Potter, along with his own sister and others, was being shown to one of the prisoners in the secure wing of Azkaban by the wizard guards who were taunting him. "You see Black? Now matter how hard you tried to help your master kill the Potters, Harry Potter lived! He's even friends with the Minister's son now!" They'd thrown that page into Black's cell in hope that he'd keep looking at it and suffer, he deserved to suffer.

* * *

Sirius Black kept looking at it alright, but he wasn't suffering, he was shaking with rage as he looked at the picture that took up half of the page. He wasn't focussing on the stupid looking, self important boy who was trying to strike what was obviously meant to be a heroic pose though, he was looking at the scrawny, moth eaten looking rat with one toe missing from its front paw that the boy was holding. That rat was the main reason he had been thrown in here without a trial or even an investigation, because he was supposed to have killed Peter Pettigrew (which was who that rat was when he was in his wizard form) in cold blood over eleven years ago. He supposedly killed a dozen muggles then too, but that didn't mean anything to the wizarding world.

Knowing that the bastard who was responsible for the murder of his best friend and his wife and making his godson an orphan was actually in a position to attack his godson again pushed Sirius to try a plan that he'd rejected as crazy since he came up with it. No doubt under orders, he'd been all but starved for most of the last eleven years and he'd wasted away. When the dementors were in another part of the prison, he'd confirmed that he could actually work his way through the bars of his cell in his animagus form, and he was willing to take a chance on any other bars he would find between his cell and the outside being passable as well.

He knew that even when he got outside the prison, the odds would be against him, because his chances of swimming all the way back to the mainland were slim to none, but he had to try, he'd failed his godson once, he was damned if he was going to fail him again. He tried to build up his strength as much as possible, and watched the wizard and dementor guards carefully to memorise their schedules and movement patterns.

When he thought that he was as ready as he'd ever be, he waited until the dementors swept through, changed into his animagus form and squeezed out through the bars of his cell, taking off in the opposite direction to where the dementors went. As it was, he only had to squeeze through two more sets of bars before he was breathing fresh air again for the first time in eleven years. Truth be told, he was _panting_ fresh air, because the exertion to get him that far had almost been enough to do him in in the state he was in.

He could hardly move, and he was rational enough to know that he had absolutely no chance of swimming all the way from this damned island to the mainland, but then he saw a boat down at the wharf and moved closer to investigate. When he got close enough to get a good look at the boat though, he slumped again in defeat because it was way too small to stow away on like he'd been hoping to, until he saw the loop of rope that was hanging in the water at the stern. With hope alive again, he slunk down to the shore and slipped into the water, paddling out to rest out of sight on some rocks that the boat would have to pass close by as it left the island. He lay half out of the water on the rock and waited for the boat to move.

He was laying there for an hour, lapping up the water that had collected in a shallow depression on the top of the rock and gathering his strength, and when the boat cast off and headed out, he had enough energy to get to it and hook one of his forelegs through the rope before the boat picked up too much speed for him to be able to catch it. It was hard, hanging on with his foreleg and teeth, especially when the water was choppy, but he was determined not to fail and he was somehow still there when the boat pulled into the small bay that was its destination on the English coast. He let go about a hundred yards from the shore and paddled away, getting out of sight of the wharf.

As soon as he was able, he headed North towards Hogwarts. Even if his meals were often out of garbage bins, he ate and rested as much as possible to recover from his ordeal in Azkaban and build up his strength, but he tried to keep moving because he knew that they must be looking for him. Well they were actually looking for Sirius Black, which was why he was staying in his animagus form most of the time.

* * *

About a month after they came back from the Christmas break, Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban was front page news for both the Prophet and the Quibbler. When Dumbledore came to their end of the table to assure Harry that there was nothing to worry about, in Harry's mind that was proof that there WAS something to worry about, so the moment they were inside Potter tower's wards, he rounded on Remus and Angela. "OK, who is Sirius Black, and why did I just have the Headmaster and Chief Wizard assuring me that I didn't have anything to to worry about?"

Remus and Angela looked at each other, then Remus told him to sit down, as this would take a while to explain. Once everyone was settled, because they all wanted to hear this, he started. "Sirius was your father's best friend, and your godfather Harry. There were four of us who stayed together through Hogwarts, James, Sirius, myself and another boy, Peter Pettigrew, though Peter was more of a hanger on, we called ourselves the Marauders. I know, it sounds silly now but we thought it sounded quite dashing at the time." They were all too focussed on the tale to notice how Fred and George jumped and looked at each other when they heard that.

"Anyway, the Marauders were pranksters, even more than the twins here, and we were always getting in trouble. I think they made me a Prefect in Fifth year in hope that I could control James and Sirius and I tried, but those two were unstoppable. James wooed your mother in their last year at Hogwarts and they married just after they left Hogwarts, but the Marauders were still together."

He stopped to think about the painful times that followed before he continued. "Soon after that, we were dragged into the war with Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Those were terrible times Harry, and I hope never to see their like again. Dumbledore had started a group called the Order of the Phoenix back at the start of the war to fight against Voldemort and his Death Eaters, and of course herald the glory of the great Albus Dumbledore, he made sure that no-one could forget who was in charge, using that name."

Fawkes trilled in derision from Harry's room and they all laughed, then she (yes, even after many decades of having Fawkes at his side, the great Albus Dumbledore had never worked out that Fawkes like all other phoenixes was a _she,_ while Harry had picked this up within a few days) flamed into the common room and settled onto the perch there.

"We all joined the order, along with Neville's parents, and we were doing our best to hold back the Death Eaters while at the same time trying to build lives for ourselves. Lily and Alice became pregnant and that brought joy into our lives, but soon after Neville and Harry were born, people in the order started questioning which side I was on because the werewolves had come down on Voldemort's side, and I was driven out." Remus went quiet as he recounted this, remembering the pain of those days, and Angela took his hand.

"Back then I had no idea where this was coming from. Looking back it seems all too obvious that it was Dumbledore trying to divide and conquer and therefore keep the order under his thumb, but then I was just hurt and I retreated into the muggle world to lick my wounds. I stayed there until two Potter elves tracked me down about four and a half years ago and reminded me of my responsibilities to my friends and their son." He smiled at Harry.

"Even though I was in the muggle world, I still heard the news when James and Lily were killed, and this is where Sirius comes in Harry, because the stories told were that Sirius was the secret keeper for their cottage in Godric's Hollow, and he must have turned back to the ways of the family Black at some time after he ran away from them at sixteen, because he betrayed your family to Voldemort. Your mother and father were killed by Voldemort because your godfather betrayed them, then he apparently went after Peter to cover his tracks or something and he utterly destroyed him, all that was left of Peter were the remnants of his robes and a finger. He also wiped out a dozen muggles who were there, and then stood there laughing while the Hit Wizards came and arrested him. They said that he was quite mad, but he was tried and sent to Azkaban after that and that's where he was until he escaped. I couldn't believe it at the time, Sirius loved James, and Lily too, and when you were born you were the world to him, but the reports said that the evidence of his crimes was conclusive."

Harry just sat there in silence with Hermione holding him, until eventually he looked up with a steely resolve in his eye. "Luna, Padma, we need to talk your father into moving into Potter Manor with Arthur so that the three of you are protected by the Manor's security. Neville, Susan, we need to convince Madam Longbottom and Madam Bones to let the goblins upgrade the wards on both Longbottom and Bones Manor to protect them. I know that they won't leave their family homes because of their history and position but if there's a madman who's roaming the country after me, he may try to get to me through them." He looked at each of them and when they agreed, headed down to the defence room to take out his anger on the practice dummies. Hermione wasn't about to let him be alone when he was in this state, so she followed him.

* * *

Back in the common room, George returned from his room with a piece of parchment that he held out to Remus. "I believe this belongs to you."

Remus looked at it, confused, then his expression cleared and he took out his wand, tapping it and saying. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." At that, a complex image faded into view, lines and labels that those who were looking over Remus's shoulder soon realised was a map of Hogwarts. There were also moving dots on this map which, when they looked closely, had names beside them. It showed enough detail to see Dumbledore pacing his study, Filch's cat, Mrs Norris, prowling the second floor and Peeves the Poltergeist bouncing around the trophy room.

Padma asked the obvious question. "What is it?"

Remus looked up at George as he answered her. "It's the Marauder's Map, but the question is, how did you get it? It was one of the things that were confiscated off us that was never returned, but we couldn't afford to make too much of it for fear that they'd work out what it actually was."

George grinned at Fred. "For some reason, Fred and I got in a lot of trouble before Harry came along and taught us the error of our ways, so we spent quite a bit of time in Filch's office, nasty place that it is. One thing that caught our eye was a drawer that was labelled 'Confiscated and Highly Dangerous'."

Fred cut in. "Obviously that was something that we had to look in, so we set it up for George to distract Filch next time we were in there so that I could get into the drawer. This was the only thing that I found in there that I could grab and hide quickly, so I grabbed it."

George took over again. "We tried all the normal commands to get it to reveal what it was hiding but we were having no luck, so we started asking who the Marauders were. When we found out that they were just like us, we tried something that we'd say, and there you are."

Remus snorted as he looked at Padma. "This is a magical map that we crafted to reveal where all the secret passages and rooms in the castle are, and also where everyone is so that we could avoid Filch, the professors and the prefects. Well, James and Sirius were also avoiding me when I was made prefect to try and keep them in line."

Padma pointed at the top of the map. "Who are Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs?"

A flash of sadness crossed over Remus's face. "Us. Those were the nicknames for our animagus forms, well mine was for me being a werewolf. I was Moony, Peter was Wormtail because his form was a rat, Sirius was Padfoot because his form was a black dog, and James was Prongs because his form was a stag."

Padma held out her hand, asking if she could see the map, and Remus handed it over. She and Luna had a better idea of what was involved in the creation of something like this and they were excited. "This is incredible!" George and Fred just grinned as they nodded in agreement.

Padma, Luna, Neville and Susan all talked to their guardians and once Harry's concerns were pointed out to them, everyone agreed that what he proposed was both reasonable and sensible. Potter elves packed up Xenophilius and moved him into Potter Manor that night and arrangements were made with Gringotts to have the wards at Longbottom and Bones Manor strengthened within the week.

* * *

The next morning when they were coming back from a run, they encountered a towering black cloaked figure that was foul and frightening. The first thing that Harry noticed was that it suddenly grew colder, like when you're near ghosts, but what he was experiencing wasn't as cheery as being with a ghost. The intense cold went deeper than his skin. It was inside his chest, it was inside his very heart... He couldn't see. He was drowning in cold. There was a rushing in his ears as though of water. He was being dragged downward, the roaring growing louder. And then, from far away, he heard screaming, terrible, terrified, pleading screams. He wanted to help whoever it was, he tried to move his arms, but couldn't... a thick white fog was swirling around him, inside him…

"Harry! Harry! Are you all right?"

Harry came to with Hermione frantically calling out to him and shaking him, then Remus dragged him to his feet and hustled them into the castle.

They knew something was seriously wrong when he dragged them straight into the Great Hall and started shouting at Dumbledore.

"What in Merlin's bloody name are dementors doing at Hogwarts? What have you done old man?"

Dumbledore drew himself up, affronted to be addressed like that in _his_ castle. "Mister Lupin, if you don't show proper respect I will have you removed from Hogwarts!"

That shook Harry out of the state he was in after dealing with that _thing_ , and his voice rang out. "You forget yourself Headmaster! Do I need to remind you _again_ that you have no authority to expel any of my staff from Hogwarts while I am attending here? My Champion asked you a question Headmaster, what is that thing, that dementor, that attacked us doing at Hogwarts?"

Just then they noticed Fudge as he stepped forward, simpering. "Now Harry, the dementors are here for your protection, just until we capture Black and send him back to Azkaban….."

Harry fixed him with a look that made him step back, a real lion this one, the Minister of Magic was frightened of a twelve year old boy glaring at him from across the Great Hall. "Please explain Minister, if you can, how bringing something here that immediately attacks _me_ is _protecting_ me?"

"I'm sure that that dementor didn't attack you Harry, they are just here to keep watch for Black and deal with him if he comes anywhere near you."

Remus spoke up again. "I fail to see how you can have come to that conclusion when you were not there Minister, because I was and that dementor definitely came straight at Lord Potter. It was almost close enough to kiss him before I managed to scare it off with a patronis. Must I remind you that if anything had happened to Lord Potter, the House of Potter would have incurred an honour debt which have would required us to deal with everyone who was involved in sending those dementors here to attack him?"

Fudge had gone white. "Honour debt? Deal with? No. No, the dementors are here to keep Black away from Harry! No-one attacked him…."

Remus looked at him with disgust. "Do not doubt that the House of Potter will deliver on this honour debt if anything should befall Lord Potter Minister. Our Lord is beloved by all of us, and our House always delivers on its debts."

With that, he turned Harry and directed him and Hermione out of the Great Hall.

They could hear questions being shouted behind them at the High Table, and Professor McGonagall's outrage came through louder than any other.

 **A/N: OK, for those who need a score card, Molly No-Name is in Azkaban. Percy Crouch and Ron Fudge are still at Hogwarts but will be going back to their Daddies. The Weasleys and Lovegoods are living with Harry, Padma Lovegood is safe and free and the Patils have run back to India with their tails between their legs. Oh, and Padfoot is trying to get back to his godson. Everyone got that? Good. ;^)**


	10. Miscarriage of Justice

**Usual disclaimers, no rights to any characters portrayed and this is neither the real world nor a Disney Princess tale.**

After Lockhart and the Chamber of Secrets, and hearing about Voldemort and the Philosopher's Stone being at Hogwarts the previous year, Madam Bones decided to leave Tonks at Hogwarts with Harry's group as well as extending Angela's reinstatement as an Auror for the foreseeable future. Now that she'd had her eyes opened to the very real dangers at Hogwarts, and how Dumbledore seemed to have a hand in bringing many of them into the school, she thought that keeping two undercover Aurors there to look out for Lord Potter and the Heirs of the Longbottom, Bones and a dozen other at least Noble Houses was the responsible thing to do, and truth be told she was attached to more than Susan in that group now.

With Tonks becoming more a permanent part of the group, Angela pointed out that she would be more at risk from those trying to find a way to use someone to interfere with House Potter, so they had a talk to her about becoming a vassal of the House of Potter like most of them were. Tonks was all for the idea, but she was surprised when an idle comment about being worried about her parents had them being brought in and included in the discussion and offer.

After Tonks, Andromeda and Ted had sworn homage and fealty to Harry, Angela looked serious and raised the issue of the betrothal contracts that had been accepted for consideration for the other young women in the group to protect them. Tonks looked shocked and said that she couldn't get betrothed to Harry and Angela somehow managed to keep a straight face as she said. "No, you being offered in betrothal to the person you work for would be inappropriate, I was thinking of one of Lord Potter's vassals. Perhaps William Weasley might do?"

Watching Tonks' hair and face colours changing rapidly as hope and excitement at the idea of being betrothed to Bill and embarrassment that Angela and now her parents knew that they'd been growing a lot closer for the past few months kept cycling through her head broke the levy and Angela burst out laughing. A blushing Tonks had to tell her parents about how she'd been seeing Bill whenever she could for the past few months. When Tonks had been embarrassed enough, Angela explained that she was actually serious about how a betrothal contract that was accepted for consideration by such a powerful house as House Potter could protect against any other houses trying to force a betrothal contract onto Tonks. A quick message to Bill got his immediate and wholehearted agreement and Angela got the paperwork made up for Ted to offer a betrothal contract for Nymphodora Tonks to William Weasley, which she accepted for consideration on behalf of House Potter, as he was Lord Potter's vassal.

* * *

They also acquired another vassal around the same time. After his being imprisoned without going through the proper processes and with the current Malfoy plan hanging over his head, it was obvious that Rubeus Hagrid was being hung out to dry by the great Albus Dumbledore who he was so loyal to. The hardest part with him was convincing him that Dumbledore could not know about this, and then hiding the memory from probes after he'd sworn homage and fealty to Harry. At least this meant that if anyone went after him, House Potter had the right and duty to protect him. This would be a first for Hagrid, because the only one who had even pretended to protect him before this was Dumbledore, but Dumbledore always had his own agenda for everything he did. Whatever Albus Dumbledore did was ultimately for the greater good of Albus Dumbledore, and he'd shown time and again that any players in his games would be sacrificed in an instant if it benefited him.

While this was going on, the great Albus Dumbledore himself was glowering around his rather more modest office and trying to work out how he could get those people out of Hogwarts. His plan for the Potter brat had been simple, get him to Hogwarts, win him over, use whatever memory and compulsion charms it took to get control of him and therefore his fortune, then have Voldemort kill him so that he in turn could kill Voldemort and rake in the acclaim and gratitude of Magical Britain.

Finding out about those damned horcruxes was a problem, and having Voldemort's body die twice now but have the magical instruments telling him that he was still alive was proof that they existed, and he needed to find and destroy them. He knew that the brat had destroyed one of them in the Chamber, it must have been that diary. Another one would be gone as soon as the brat was killed, but he still had to work out how many of them there were, locate the rest of them and deal with them before he could vanquish Voldemort and reap his rewards.

That was why he was stuck in this, diminished, office now, plotting how to get the brat killed so that he could get that witch out of Hogwarts before she ruined everything. In less than two years, between them Potter, his _Regent_ and the Director of the DMLE had almost destroyed the standing and fortune that he'd spent over half a century arranging and building up. None of the Noble houses represented on the Hogwarts board had any real affection for him, so they'd been delighted to back this regent's plays, gleefully giving her oversight of the Hogwarts Headmaster and agreeing to anything she suggested. That was how he'd lost the throne in the Great Hall that he'd had made as a faithful replica of the Coronation Throne, nearly all of the fabulous furniture and decorations in his office and quarters….

The gall of the witch, she'd actually gone through his _private_ quarters and had anything that could bring worthwhile money sold, replacing it all with much cheaper, plainer things, just as she had in his office, and his throne. Nothing was sacred to that witch, she'd also sold off the gold plates and accoutrements of the Great Hall and replaced them with plainer things. The most irritating thing about that was that most of the students had hardly noticed the change, ungrateful brats. The fact that she'd had the gall to say. "Well you won't be needing _that_ any more!" and had one of the Hogwarts elves remove Fawkes' solid gold perch to be sold off and then blocked him from authorising any payments to be made from Hogwarts funds was the last straw, she had to go!

Dumbledore and Crouch were depending on Fudge's stupidity and cowardice to ensure that he did what he was told and left those dementors around Hogwarts. They couldn't afford to let Black talk to anyone, because if the DMLE questioned him under Veritaserum, they'd be ruined. The only concession that Dumbledore was forced to agree to under threats of being charged with child endangerment by the Director of the DMLE was to have the dementors pushed back to outside the Hogwarts boundaries. Amelia made it very clear to both Dumbledore and Fudge that if ANY child was harmed in any way by dementors inside the boundaries of Hogwarts, she'd ensure that they were both in Azkaban before the day was out. It was a mark of the fear that they all had of her that she could threaten the Minister of Magic publicly like that without anyone saying a word.

* * *

Fudge Junior was obviously too stupid to understand the very clear restrictions placed on him, because he kept trying to talk to Hermione and his brothers and sister to get them to stop everyone being unfair to him. Fudge had stopped answering the weekly, if not more, calls from Professor McGonagall for him to come and talk about his son's breaching the requirements of his probation after a few weeks. After that he sent his Senior Undersecretary, Delores Umbridge, in his place.

When Minerva saw her, she recognised her as the ridiculous witch that Fudge had had with him the day that Harry dealt with the basilisk and Riddle in the Chamber of Secrets and asked what she was doing there. She let the toad get far enough through her diatribe. "As you know, I am Delores Umbridge, the _Senior_ Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic Deputy Headmistress. I am here as the Minister of Magic's _official_ representative to demand that you cease these spurious charges and harassment of the Minister's son immediately or there will be serious rep…..." to get the gist of it before she banished the toad out through the door of her office.

The display that she was getting from Fudge's 'Senior Undersecretary' as she slumped crumpled against the wall with her knees up around her ears was almost enough to make Minerva lose her breakfast, but she steeled herself and said. "Hogwarts was doing the Minister the courtesy of trying to give him the chance to get his son to behave before we handed the matter over to the authorities Delores. If the Minister has decided that his son is not worth the effort of dealing with directly, we will simply have to pass the matter along to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and let them deal with Master Fudge. You can go back and inform the Minister of that, good day." With that she firmly shut the door and went to send an owl off to the DMLE.

Unfortunately, the official response came from the ones who were under Fudge's thumb in the DMLE. This stated that as Ronald Fudge was only thirteen, the only steps that could be taken would be send him home if he was expelled from Hogwarts , but only Dumbledore had the authority to expel him and he refused to do so, this meant that the staff had to get creative. His teachers banned him from any classes where he was bothering Ginny and Luna, and after discussions with Hogwarts itself by way of the Hogwarts ghosts about the matter, Hogwarts blocked him from entering the Great Hall.

A single plate and cup with a generous serve was delivered to his dorm room for breakfast, lunch and dinner by the Hogwarts elves and that was all he got, no more second, third, fourth and fifth serves for Ronald, he of course regarded this as being starved. Harry did get a little vindictive satisfaction out of adding that stipulation, knowing that Ronald Fudge would consider this to be cruel and unfair torture.

They couldn't block him from the corridors, but the goblin guards were enough to prevent him from getting near any of the girls there, and Fred and George knocked him on his arse whenever he tried to plead for their help, he didn't have much more luck with Harry or Neville either.

Dumbledore tried to order the teachers to take him back into their classes, but they pointed out the rules said that their responsibility was to the majority of their students and Ronald Fudge was a pathetically lazy and hopeless student who did little but cause disruption in their classes, so they could not in good faith allow him to interfere with the other students who were trying to learn.

If it wasn't for being starved, Ron could have been happy with this arrangement, as he only had three classes to do, Potions, where Snape being was nice to him because Potter was against him, History of Magic where he slept right through, and Defence against the Dark Arts, well he could have done without that one because that Moody was a scary git, and he made them work. Except for the food, not being allowed into the Great Hall was no great loss either because no-one had talked to him for ages.

He didn't understand that, he was _important,_ now that he was the Minister of Magic's son, but they all dismissed him even more now than they had when he was just Ron Weasley. That's another thing, most of them were right angry at him, like he'd done something wrong, what did he do wrong? His Mum told him to get that Mudblood out of the way to give Ginny a clear run at Potter, yeah, he was gunna to have his fun with her and share her around for a few sickles but what was wrong with that? That's all she was good for, it's not like she had any marriage prospects or anything, she was a Mudblood for Merlin's sake!

He just wished his Dad would come and take him out of here, living in the big house with house elves and having anything he wanted to eat, whenever he wanted, having tutors to do everything for him so that he didn't have to work while he was being home schooled, that was the way his life was supposed to be! Whenever he sent an owl to his father asking him to come though he'd just get one from that bossy senior assistant of his, telling him how busy and important his father was. He knew that, come on, he was the _Minister,_ but he must have time for his own son?

* * *

After being faced with a basilisk and being told by the Sorting Hat that Gryffindor's sword would come to him when he had the need, Harry decided that really learning how to use that sword wouldn't be a bad idea at all. So he tested what the Hat said and he found that when he put his hand out and called for it, it appeared. It actually appeared so fast that he almost dropped it, but he grabbed it just in time. Playing around with it, he realised that Dumbledore had told the truth about one thing anyway, this sword was magical, it came to life in his hands and was light as a feather, while for anyone else it was just a sword and they had to heft its full weight. It was only when Rackclaw took him to see the Head Goblin with the sword after he'd reverently examined it did Harry come to realise the implications of this.

It was the Head Goblin who told him why it had effected Rackclaw the way it did. "This is one of the two fabled goblin magical swords Lord Potter, we have been suing for its return to us ever since the human wizard it was bequeathed to died, because it was not returned as it was agreed to be at that time as he had no rightful heir for it to go to. For you to be able to call this sword to you and activate its magic however means that you are indeed the true heir of Godric Gryffindor, therefore this sword is rightfully your's, Lord Gryffindor."

Harry just stared at him. "What? I can't be the true heir of Godric Gryffindor, I'm Harry Potter, being Lord Potter is crazy enough, being Lord Gryffindor is just insane!"

The Head Goblin gave a goblin grin. "There is a way to find that out, if you are willing?"

Harry looked at Hermione, confused, before looking back at saying. "Yes?"

The Head Goblin nodded. "Good. Come along, and bring the sword."

The carts took them far deeper than the level his personal vault was on, and the Head Goblin pointed out some of the other Potter vaults along the way as they whizzed past. Eventually they stopped at a vault on what must have been one of the lowest levels and climbed out. Walking up to the vault door, the Head Goblin told Harry to hold the sword up while he placed his other hand on the vault door. When he did so, the sword lit up and Harry jumped back, as the vault door started opening.

The Head Goblin gave another grin. "This is Lord Gryffindor's vault, and only Lord Gryffindor can open it. This means that you are indeed the true heir of Godric Gryffindor and you are now Lord Gryffindor. We just need to locate the Gryffindor ring for the final proof."

While the Head Goblin was hunting through a bowl full of rings for the one he was after, Harry saw a strange looking device made from a dragon fang? Sitting on a table that looked out of place and on a whim, he picked it up to look at it. It looked worn, and the opening carved into it looked at first too small to be of any use, until he looked at the sword of Gryfindor that he'd placed on the table. Picking it up, he fed the sword into it and wasn't surprised to find that it slid easily in until the hilt was seated securely against it. The surprise was when he released the hilt and the sword disappeared. He called for the sword and it immediately appeared in his hand again, sheathing it again the same thing happened and this time he left it that way, threading the loop attached to the fang onto his belt. Now he knew why there had been no scabbard with the sword of Gryffindor, because sheathing the sword would have made it disappear, to any but its rightful owner.

Hermione was excitedly looking through some journals which were Godric's personal working books and spell books when the Head Goblin came back with the Gryffindor ring. None of them were surprised when it shrank to fit Harry's finger and he felt the magic acceptance coursing through him.

This caused the Head Goblin to give another grin as Remus bowed low to Harry and greeted him as Lord Gryffindor. "The human magical records will have now been updated and the Gryffindor votes reactivated in the Wizengamot, so there will be a lot of confused and worried wizards in your Ministry of Magic and Wizengamot. They will be wondering where the Heir of Gryffindor has come from. This ring is all you need to claim your rights as Lord Gryffindor, including your votes in the Wizengamot, I expect that will be an emergency session called very soon to determine who it is, and I believe that that would be your best opportunity to announce yourself."

Harry nodded and looked at the bowl of rings. "Are the betrothal rings in there as well?"

The Head Goblin nodded. "Yes, but is Miss Granger to be Lady Potter, or Lady Gryffindor?"

Harry was confused now. "Lady Potter I guess, but I thought that if I'm both Lord Potter and Lord Gryffindor, she would be both."

"Her title will be what she is actually married to. House Potter is the superior house between the two, so if she is to be your primary spouse, she must marry you as Lord Potter. Marrying her as Lord Gryffindor would leave you open to marry another as Lord Potter, and that one would be your primary spouse."

"What? No! I'm only marrying Hermione!"

"Then you must marry her as Lord Potter. While we cannot give you full access to the Potter vaults until you reach your majority, we can if you wish visit the main Potter vault and retrieve the Potter betrothal rings for you and Miss Granger?"

Hermione was trying to calm Harry down, but he nodded and managed to ask politely. "Yes Please."

When the Head Goblin opened the primary vault for House Potter, the young couple (and Remus) were shocked, as it contained the most prized treasures of one of the oldest and most powerful houses in Magical Britain, and they had never seen anything like this before. It didn't take long for the Head Goblin to locate the Potter betrothal rings, and when Harry and Hermione slipped them onto each other's fingers, they shrank to fit as they felt them accepting the magical betrothal agreement that they had made with each other.

Back in the Head Goblin's office, they used the floo to contact Angela and ask whether she had been called to an emergency Wizengamot session. She immediately looked suspicious. "Yes, how would you know that?" Harry blushed and couldn't speak, so Hermione grabbed his hand and raised it to display the Potter and Gryffindor rings. "Harry is Lord Gryffindor. The Head Goblin proved it by getting him to open Lord Gryffindor's vault and put the Gryffindor ring on."

Angela sat back, stunned. "Life's never simple around you, is it Harry? The session is in an hour and a half. I presume as you knew about it you're intending to announce yourself there?"

Harry just nodded, so she went on. "Right, I'll send Tally down to the Potter rooms in the Ministry of Magic…." At his look of confusion, she explained. "All of the major houses have allocated rooms for their convenience at the Ministry for Wizengamot sessions. Anyway, I'll send Tally down with the appropriate robes for you, Hermione and Remus so you can get ready there. I presume that you have more business to deal with at Gringotts over this, so you can get that done and then get ready at the Ministry, OK?"

Harry just nodded again so Hermione answered for him. "Yes, that will be fine Angela."

Angela smiled. "Look after him and make sure he gets to that Wizengamot session Hermione." and cut the link.

They did have to formalise Harry taking over the Gryffindor holdings, but most of the hour was spent talking about what to do with the basilisk and whatever else was in the Chamber of Secrets. They had to go through and determine what was there first and Angela, as the Potter Regent, would of course have a say in the matter, but it was agreed that the basilisk and most other saleable items in the Chamber of Secrets would be processed and sold by the goblins for a percentage of the proceeds.

Looking around the 'Potter Rooms' at the Ministry, Harry shook his head, as this was a sprawling, luxurious apartment. He understood that it was probably magically shrunk when it wasn't in use, but it was wasteful to cater to the ego of the major houses like this for things that were hardly ever used.

They had a meal that Tally laid out, got cleaned up and dressed in their formal robes and headed down to the Wizengamot chamber, sitting in the gallery until Angela signalled Harry to come forward and announce himself. Of course, some of the blowhards claimed that it was a hoax, even though the magical acceptance of the ring was incontrovertible, and they could see that Dumbledore wanted to say something as well, but he couldn't as the Chief Wizard.

In the end, Harry was getting sick and tired of this and reaching out, called for the sword of Gryffindor. As soon as it appeared in his hand the great, shining sword stopped all the bickering as his anger was making it shine like it had at Gryffindor's vault as he looked around. "I could arrange for those who don't believe me or Gryffindor's ring to have a closer look at the sword of Gryffindor if you'd like?"

All the arguments were dropped at that threat and Gryffindor's votes in the Wizengamot were confirmed. They could tell from the calculating look that Dumbledore was giving Harry that he was planning something, but they expected that he would wait until they were back at Hogwarts. Once Lord Potter was accepted as Lord Gryffindor, the Gryffindor votes were added to the Potter votes that Angela controlled as Potter Regent, and Potter went from one of the most powerful houses in the Wizengamot to _the_ most powerful house. Augusta and Amelia were smiling at this, because between them they now wielded enough power to really make those wizards take notice. The wizards didn't seem so enthusiastic about this idea.

Back at Hogwarts that night, at dinner in the Great Hall, they saw Dumbledore striding solemnly towards them and knew that he was going to make his move. Harry glanced at Remus and he and the others moved to the end of the table. Dumbledore obviously wished he could get rid of them but he didn't waste his breath, he just looked at Harry with a disappointed expression. "I am disappointed with you Harry, you told me that you didn't have the sword when I asked you but you obviously did. I will of course expect you to do the honourable thing and return it to me, as it belongs to Hogwarts."

When Harry replied, his calm, clear voice somehow carried across most of the Hall. "No Headmaster, I did not have the sword when you asked me about it. When the Head Goblin at Gringotts heard the story of what happened in the Chamber of Secrets, he asked me to call for the sword, and it came to me again, when it did he told me the full story that you apparently chose to keep from me. When you told me that only a true Gryffindor could have pulled the sword out of the Hat, you obviously neglected to mention that it was only the true _Heir_ of Gryffindor who could have called the sword to them. As I doubt that something like that would have just slipped your mind, I have to believe that this must have been an intentional omission on your part? Once it was confirmed that the sword of Gryffindor had accepted me, I was taken to the Gryffindor vault, where they had me open the vault as another test, and then had the Gryffindor ring accept me as well, which you know because you were at the emergency Wizengamot session where I was formally accepted as Lord Gryffindor. So the sword of Gryffindor does not belong to Hogwarts Headmaster, it belongs to Lord Gryffindor, which would be me."

"Also, Gringotts has asked me to inform you that they will be levying penalties on you for every one of the many, many times that they directly asked you as Hogwarts Headmaster where the goblin treasure that rightfully should have been returmed to them after Godric Gryffindor's death was after they heard that the sword of Gryffindor was at Hogwarts, but you lied and said that you had no idea where it was, when it was in fact hanging behind your desk in the Hogwarts Headmaster's office. The goblins are not happy with you Headmaster, and neither am I. The previous rightful owners of the sword of Gryffindor have acknowledged that the sword has accepted me as its true owner headmaster, and therefore have accepted my right to hold it, which I shall be doing."

Dumbledore obviously wanted to argue, and he was furious that the boy had somehow managed to project his conversational voice across most of the Hall so everyone heard that, but realised that there was nothing that he could do, so he turned and stumped away. When he saw that the Deputy Headmistress was riling for a fight about what she had just heard, he quickly left the Great Hall.

They also left soon after, because Fudge Junior was ranting. "If bloody Potter is Lord Gryffindor, we need to get out of this house, yeah? It'd be a nightmare, having him lord it over us even more!"

He took the cheering from the Gryffindor table as agreement for what he was saying, rather than rejoicing at the idea of him leaving, so he launched into another diatribe and Harry and the others left. Most of those at the high table stood and bowed to Harry as he was leaving, and he returned the bow.

* * *

There was a major disturbance when the Gryffindor students went back to their tower that night, because the Fat Lady wasn't there to let them into the tower, and her picture had been torn up as if someone had attacked her. The Headmaster and staff were called, when he arrived Dumbledore took one quick look at the ruined painting and turned, his eyes somber, to see Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, and Snape hurrying toward him.

"We need to find her," said Dumbledore. "Professor McGonagall, please go to Mister Filch at once and tell him to search every painting in the castle for the Fat Lady."

"You'll be lucky!" said a cackling voice.

It was Peeves the Poltergeist, bobbing above the crowd of students and looking delighted, as he always did, at the sight of trouble and strife.

"What do you mean, Peeves?" asked Dumbledore sternly, and Peeves's grin faded a little as he remembered what happened last time he taunted Dumbledore. Instead he adopted an oily voice that was little better than his cackle. "Ashamed. Your Headmastership, she is. Doesn't want to be seen. She's a horrible mess. Saw her running through the landscape up on the fourth floor, sir, dodging between the trees. Crying something dreadful, she was." he said happily. "Poor thing." he added unconvincingly.

"Did she say who did it?" said Dumbledore tersely.

"Oh yes, your Professorship," said Peeves, pretending to be serious.

"He got very angry when she wouldn't let him in, you see. Nasty temper he's got, that Sirius Black." He cackled as he said the name.

Professor Dumbledore sent all the Gryffindors straight back to the Great Hall, where they were soon joined by the students from Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin, who were all looking rather confused.

"The teachers and I must conduct a thorough search of the castle." Dumbledore told the students as Professors McGonagall and Flitwick closed all doors into the hall. "For your own safety, you will all have to spend the night here. I want the prefects to stand guard over the entrances to the hall and The Head Boy and Girl are in charge. Any disturbance should be reported to me immediately." he added quietly to the Head Boy. "Send word with one of the ghosts."

Dumbledore paused, as he was about to leave the hall, and said, "Oh, yes, you'll be needing…"

With a wave of his wand, the long tables moved to the sides of the hall and stood themselves against the walls. Another wave had the floor covered with hundreds of sleeping bags.

Dumbledore called out. "Sleep well." and closed the door behind him.

The hall erupted with chatter as the Gryffindors were telling the rest of the school what had just happened. A few students asked where the Potter kids were but that generally got answered with nothing but a shrug.

The Head girl started calling out "Everyone into their sleeping bags! Lights out in ten minutes!"

In Potter Tower, after he'd assured Professor McGonagall that they'd be safe in their tower, Remus came back and sent some of the goblin guards to stand guard outside the doors to the Great Hall as he'd promised. Then he filled the others in on the fact that Sirius was apparently inside Hogwarts.

They were sitting around mulling over that news over when Remus suddenly realised that they had a way of finding Black, and ran to his room to get the Marauder's Map, but poring over it for half an hour didn't find any sign of Sirius Black inside the castle.

* * *

The next morning, they were warned at breakfast that after the events of the previous night, the dementors were now roaming the grounds of Hogwarts, so no students were to leave the castle without a teacher accompanying them. Back in their common room, Remus said that they'd have to stop their runs until the dementors left and Harry asked Remus about them, because they hadn't discussed them after that one had attacked him.

" Why? Why do they affect me like that? Am I just….?"

"It has nothing to do with weakness." Remus cut him off sharply, seeing where Harry was going. "The dementors affect you worse than most because there are horrors in your past that they don't have."

He looked out the window as he continued. "Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth Harry. They infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay and despair, they drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them. Even muggles feel their presence, though they can't see them. Get too near a dementor and every good feeling, every happy memory will be sucked out of you. If it can, the dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce you to something like itself... soul-less and evil. You'll be left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life. And the worst that happened to you, Harry, is more than enough to make anyone pass out. You have nothing to feel ashamed of."

"When they get near me…." Harry stared out the window too, his throat tight. "I can hear Voldemort murdering my mum."

Remus put his arm around Harry's shoulders. There was a moment's silence, then….

"Why have they come inside the grounds again?" said Harry bitterly.

"The official reason is that they're looking for Black, but the truth is that they're getting hungry and harder to control." Remus answered shortly. "Dumbledore was made to push them out of the school, so their supply of human prey dried up... ."

"Azkaban must be terrible," Harry muttered. Remus nodded grimly.

"The fortress is set on a tiny island, way out to sea, but they don't need walls and water to keep the prisoners in, not when they're all trapped inside their own heads, incapable of a single cheery thought. Most of them go mad within weeks."

"But Sirius Black escaped from them," Harry said slowly. "He got away…"

Something crossed over Remus's face "Yes, Black must have found a way to fight them. I wouldn't have believed it possible... Dementors are supposed to drain a wizard of his powers if he is left with them too long.…"

"You made that dementor that attacked me back off." Harry pointed out.

"There are….. certain defences one can use," Remus admitted. "But there was only one dementor there. The more there are, the more difficult it becomes to resist."

"What defenses?" said Harry at once. "Can you teach me?"

"I don't pretend to be an expert at fighting dementors, Harry, quite the contrary…"

"Who is then?"

"All right. I'll try…. I'll let you know when I have what we need."

A few days later Remus asked him if he was ready to give it a try, and they went down to their Defence classroom after Dinner.

Remus left him there, and came back five minutes later, carrying a large trunk.

"What's that?" said Harry.

"It's another boggart. I've been combing the castle ever since Tuesday, and very luckily, I found this one lurking inside Filch's filing cabinet. It's the nearest we'll get to a real dementor. From the last time we were working with them, the boggart will turn into a dementor when he sees you, so we'll be able to practice on him. I can store him in my office when we're not using him, there's a cupboard under my desk he'll like."

"Okay," said Harry, trying to sound as though he wasn't worried and just glad that Remus had found such a good substitute for a real dementor.

"So..." Remus had taken out his own wand, and indicated that Harry should do the same. "The spell I am going to try and teach you is advanced magic, Harry, well beyond Ordinary Wizarding Level. It is called the Patronus Charm."

"How does it work?" said Harry nervously.

"Well, when it works correctly, It conjures up a Patronus, which is a kind of anti-dementor, a guardian that acts as a shield between you and the dementor."

Harry had a sudden image of himself crouching behind a Hagrid sized figure holding a large club. Remus continued, "The Patronus is a kind of positive force, a projection of the very things that the dementor feeds upon - hope, happiness, the desire to survive - but it cannot feel despair, as real humans can, so the dementors can't hurt it. But I must warn you, Harry, that the charm might be too advanced for you yet. Many qualified wizards have difficulty with it."

"What does a Patronus look like?" said Harry curiously.

"Each one is unique to the wizard who conjures it."

"And how do you conjure it?"

"With an incantation, which will work only if you are concentrating, with all your might, on a single, very happy memory."

Harry cast his mind about for a happy memory. Finally, he settled on the moment when he had first ridden a broomstick.

"Right," he said, trying to recall as exactly as possible the wonderful, soaring sensation of his stomach.

"The incantation is this -" Remus cleared his throat. "Expecto patronum!"

"Expecto patronum, " Harry repeated under his breath, "expecto patronum."

"Concentrating hard on your happy memory?"

"Oh, yeah…." said Harry, quickly forcing his thoughts back to that first broom ride. "Expecto patrono…. no, patronum, sorry, expecto patronum, expecto patronum"

Something whooshed suddenly out of the end of his wand, it looked like a wisp of silvery gas.

"Did you see that?" asked Harry excitedly. "Something happened!"

"Very good," said Remus, smiling. "Right, then - ready to try it on a dementor?"

"Yes," Harry said, gripping his wand very tightly, and moving into the middle of the deserted classroom. He tried to keep his mind on flying, but something else kept intruding... Any second now, he might hear his mother again... but he shouldn't think that, or he would hear her again, and he didn't want to... or did he?

Remus grasped the lid of the trunk and pulled.

A dementor rose slowly from the trunk, its hooded face turned toward Harry, one glistening, scabbed hand gripping its cloak. The lamps around the classroom flickered and went out. The dementor stepped from the trunk and started to sweep silently toward Harry, drawing a deep, rattling breath. A wave of piercing cold broke over him….

"Expecto patronum!" Harry yelled. "Expecto patronum! Expecto…"

But the classroom and the dementor were dissolving... Harry was failing again through thick white fog, and his mother's voice was louder than ever, echoing inside his head... "Not Harry! Not Harry! Please, I'll do anything!"

"Stand aside. Stand aside, girl!"

"Harry!"

Harry jerked back to life. He was lying flat on his back on the floor.

The classroom lamps were alight again. He didn't have to ask what had happened.

"Sorry," he muttered, sitting up and feeling cold sweat trickling down behind his glasses.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes..." Harry pulled himself up on the table and leaned against it.

"Here…." Remus handed him a Chocolate Frog. "Eat this before we try again. I didn't expect you to do it your first time, in fact, I would have been astounded if you had."

"It's getting worse," Harry muttered, biting off the Frog's head. "I could hear her louder that time…. and him…. Voldemort."

Remus looked pale. "Harry, if you don't want to continue, I will more than understand…."

"No! I do!" said Harry fiercely, stuffing the rest of the Chocolate Frog into his mouth. "I've got to! What if the dementors turn up again, I need to be able to protect Hermione and the others if we're caught away from you!"

"All right then... " said Remus. "You might want to select another memory, a happy memory, I mean, to concentrate on... That one doesn't seem to have been strong enough.…"

Harry thought hard and came up with something that felt stronger than the first one. He gripped his wand tightly again and took up his position in the middle of the classroom.

"Ready?" asked Remus, gripping the trunk lid.

"Ready…." said Harry, trying hard to fill his head with happy thoughts, and not dark thoughts about what was going to happen when the box opened.

"Go!" cried Remus, pulling lid open. The room went icily cold and dark once more. The dementor glided forward, drawing its breath; one rotting hand was extending toward Harry….

"Expecto patronum!" Harry yelled. "Expecto patronum! Expecto Pat…."

White fog obscured his senses... big, blurred shapes were moving around him... then came a new voice, a man's voice, shouting, panicking….

"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off…"

The sounds of someone stumbling from a room…. a door bursting open…. a cackle of high- pitched laughter…

"Harry! Harry... wake up.…"

Remus was tapping Harry hard on the face. This time it was a minute before Harry understood why he was lying on a dusty classroom floor.

"I heard my dad," Harry mumbled. "That's the first time I've ever heard him…. he tried to take on Voldemort himself, to give my mum time to run for it.…"

Harry realised that there were tears on his face mingling with the sweat. He wiped them away, embarrassed.

"You heard James?" asked Remus in a sad voice.

"Yeah..." Face dry, Harry looked up.

"Oh. Listen, Harry…. perhaps we should leave it here for tonight. This charm is too advanced... I shouldn't have suggested putting you through this.…"

"No!" Harry snapped. "I'll have one more go! I'm not thinking of happy enough things, that's what it is... Hang on.…"

He racked his brains. A really, really happy memory... one that he could turn into a good, strong Patronus…

The moment when he'd first seen the unicorns in the woods beside Potter Manor, that was special. Holding onto that, Harry got to his feet and faced the packing case once more.

"Ready?" asked Remus, who looked as though he had doubts about this. "Are you concentrating hard? All right…. go!"

He pulled lid open for the third time, and the dementor rose out of it, the room fell cold and dark.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Harry shouted. "EXPECTO PATRONUM! EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

The screaming inside Harry's head had started again….. except this time, it sounded as though it were coming from a badly tuned radio…. softer and louder and softer again…. and he could still see the dementor…. it had halted…. and then a huge, silver shadow came bursting out of the end of Harry's wand, to hover between him and the dementor, and though Harry's legs felt like water, he was still on his feet…. though for how much longer, he wasn't sure…..

"Riddikulus!" roared Remus, springing forward.

There was a loud crack, and Harry's cloudy Patronus vanished along with the dementor. He sank into a chair, feeling as exhausted as if he'd just run a mile, and felt his legs shaking. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Remus forcing the boggart back into the trunk with his wand, it had turned into a silvery orb again.

"Excellent!" Remus said, striding over to where Harry sat. "Excellent, Harry! That was definitely a good start!"

"Can we have another go? Just one more go?"

"Not now," said Remus firmly. "You've had enough for one night. Here…."

He handed Harry a large bar of Honeydukes' best chocolate.

"Eat the lot, or both Tally and Madam Pomfrey will be after my blood, and I'm not sure which of those two I'm more afraid of. We can try again in a day or two?"

"Okay," said Harry. He took a bite of the chocolate and watched Remus extinguishing the lamps that had rekindled with the disappearance of the dementor.

They went back up to the common room and Tally brought some warmed butter beer for them. Hermione cuddled up to Harry and wrapped her arms around him, he started to feel better after that.

* * *

The next day dawned fine and clear, and Harry decided that he had to get out of the castle. "Let's visit Hagrid!"

Luna and Ginny were working on something with Tonks and Fred and George decided to stay and work, which probably meant find ways to wind up Tonks about Bill, so it was the original five who headed down with Remus, Angela and the goblin guards.

The Forbidden Forest looked green and inviting for once, and even Hagrid's cabin looked cheery.

Neville knocked, but there was no answer.

"He's not out, is he?" said Hermione

Neville out his ear to the door.

"I can hear something…." he said. "Listen... is that Fang?"

Harry and Hermione put their ears to the door too. From inside the cabin came a series of low, throbbing moans.

"Hagrid!" called Harry, thumping the door. "Hagrid, are you in there. There was a sound of heavy footsteps, then the door creaked open. Hagrid stood there with his eyes red and swollen, tears rolling down his face.

"Have ya heard?" he bellowed, and he flung himself onto Harry's neck. Hagrid being rather more than twice the size of a normal man, this was no laughing matter. Harry, about to collapse under Hagrid's weight, was rescued by Remus and Rackclaw, who each seized Hagrid by an arm and heaved him back into the cabin. Hagrid allowed himself to be steered into a chair and slumped over the table, sobbing uncontrollably, his face covered in the tears that dripped down into his tangled beard.

"Hagrid, what is it?" said Hermione, aghast.

Harry spotted an official-looking letter lying open on the table. "What's that, Hagrid?"

Hagrid's sobs redoubled, but he shoved the letter toward Harry, who Picked it up and read aloud.

'Dear Mr. Hagrid,

Further to our inquiry into the attack by a hippogriff on a student in your class, we have accepted the assurances of Professor Dumbledore that you bear no responsibility for the regrettable incident.'

"Well, that's good then, Hagrid." Neville offered, but Hagrid continued to sob, and waved one hand, inviting Harry to read on.

'However, we must register our concern about the hippogriff in question. We have decided to uphold the official complaint of Mr. Lucius Malfoy, and this matter will therefore be taken to the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. The hearing will take place on April 20th, and we ask you to present yourself and your hippogriff at the Committee's offices in London on that date. In the meantime, the hippogriff should be kept tethered and isolated. Yours in fellowship…'

There followed a list of the school board members who signed it. Once again, Angela, Augusta and Amelia's names weren't anywhere to be seen.

Susan tried to cheer him up. "But you said Buckbeak isn't a bad hippogriff, Hagrid. I'm sure he'll get off."

"Ye don' know them gargoyles at the Committee fer the Disposal o' Dangerous Creatures!" Hagrid choked out, wiping his eyes on his sleeve.

"They've got it in fer interestin' creatures, they have!"

Harry and the others looked at each other. They had never quite seen eye to eye with Hagrid on that, as what he called "interesting creatures", other people generally called "terrifying monsters." On the other hand, there didn't seem to be any particular harm in Buckbeak. In fact, by Hagrid's usual standards, he was positively cute.

"You'll have to put up a good strong defense, Hagrid," said Hermione, sitting down and laying a hand on Hagrid's massive forearm. "I'm sure you can prove Buckbeak is safe."

"Won't make no diff'rence!" sobbed Hagrid. "Them Disposal devils, they're all in Lucius Malfoy's pocket! Scared o' him! And if I lose the case, Buckbeak…."

Hagrid drew his finger swiftly across his throat, then gave a great wail and lurched forward, his face in his arms.

"What about Dumbledore, Hagrid?" asked Harry, more for Hagrid's sake than in hope that the old bastard would do anything.

"He's done more'n enough fer me already." groaned Hagrid. "Got enough on his plate what with keepin' them dementors outta the castle, an' Sirius Black lurkin' around…."

Hermione and Neville looked quickly at Harry, as though expecting him to tell him the truth about Dumbledore. But Harry couldn't bring himself to do it, not when he saw how miserable Hagrid was.

"Listen, Hagrid." he said, "you can't give up. Hermione's right, You just need a good defense. You can call us and the others in the class as witnesses…."

"I'm sure I've read about a case of hippogriff-baiting." said Hermione thoughtfully, "where the hippogriff got off, I'll look it up for you, Hagrid, and see exactly what happened."

Hagrid howled still more loudly. Harry and Hermione looked at Neville to help them.

"Er…. shall I make a cup of tea?" suggested Neville.

Harry stared at him.

"It's what my Gran says whenever someone's upset." Neville muttered, shrugging.

At last, after many more assurances of help, with a steaming mug of tea in front of him, Hagrid blew his nose on a handkerchief the size of a teatowel and said. "Ye right. I can' afford to go ter pieces. Gotta pull meself together..."

Fang the boarhound came timidly out from under the table and laid his head on Hagrid's knee.

"I've not bin meself lately." said Hagrid, stroking Fang with one hand and wiping his face with the other. "Worried abou' Buckbeak, an' no one likin' me classes…."

"We do like them!" Hermione was only lying a little.

"An' them dementors make me feel ruddy terrible an' all," said Hagrid. with a sudden shudder. "Gotta walk past 'em ev'ry time I want a drink in the Three Broomsticks. 'S like bein' back in Azkaban….."

He fell silent, gulping his tea. Harry and the others watched him quietly. They had never heard Hagrid talk about his brief spell in Azkaban before. After a pause, Hermione said timidly, "Was it awful in there, Hagrid?"

"Ye've no idea." said Hagrid quietly. "Never bin anywhere like it. Thought I was goin' mad. Kep' goin' over horrible stuff in me mind...the day I got expelled from Hogwarts... day me dad died... day I had ter let Norbert go.…"

"Ye can' really remember who ye are after a while. An' yeh can' really see the point o' livin' at all. I used ter hope I'd jus' die in me sleep. When they let me out, it was like bein' born again, ev'rythin' came floodin' back, it was the bes' feelin' in the world. Mind, the dementors weren't keen on lettin' me go."

"But you were innocent!" said Hermione.

Hagrid snorted.

"Think that matters to them? They don' care. Long as they've got a couple o' hundred humans stuck there with 'em, so they can leech all the happiness out of 'em, they don' give a damn who's guilty an' who's not."

Hagrid went quiet for a moment, staring into his tea. Then he said quietly, "I thought o' jus' letting Buckbeak go... tryin' ter make him fly away... but how d'ye explain ter a hippogriff it's gotta go inter hidin'? An'…..An' I'm scared o' breakin' the law..." He looked up at them, tears leaking down his face again. "I don' ever want ter go back ter Azkaban."

The trip to Hagrid's, though ultimately far from fun, had nevertheless had the effect they'd hoped.

Though Harry had by no means forgotten about his problems, he couldn't sit and brood if he wanted to help Hagrid win his case against the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. He, Hermione and the others went to the library the next day and returned to their common room laden with books that might help prepare a defence for Buckbeak. They sat in front of the roaring fire, slowly turning the pages of dusty volumes about famous cases of marauding beasts, speaking occasionally when they ran across something which seemed relevant.

"Here's something... there was a case in 1722... but the hippogriff was convicted…. ugh, look what they did to it, that's disgusting…."

"This might help, look... a manticore savaged someone in 1296, and they let the manticore off…. Oh…. no, that was only because everyone was too scared to go near it."

Angela and Tonks were helping them, but when they saw that concentrating on this was taking all their minds off what was going on around them, they only stepped in when asked or they were missing something obvious.

 **A/N: Yeah, I know, the Heir of Gryffindor has been used before** **in other stories** **, but it goes back to the original** **story** **. If only a 'true Gryffindor' can draw the sword, it's easy to slap a little Arthurian legend on top** **and have that be the 'true Heir of Gryffindor', and if he's the true heir then he should be Lord Gryffindor, access the** **Gryffindor** **vault, have the ring recognise him etc. In a land of magic, once the lord of a long dead house is recognised, then the noble house system that their government and culture is based on should recognise him as well, no?**


	11. I Smell a Rat

**Slight change in the last chapter, the scabbard became a magical device made from a dragon's fang that the sends the sword to where the Sorting Hat sent it and Harry calls the sword to get it back.**

 **Thanks Breezie**

 **Sorry if anyone was waiting on this, I was away for four days.**

 **Usual disclaimers, no rights to any characters portrayed and some don't follow canon here. Also, this is neither the real world nor a Disney Princess tale.**

When they went back to the Chamber of Secrets with the Gringotts people, curse breakers and those who would valuing and processing what was found there, anyone who hadn't been there with the first party were shocked, as they'd all believed that the stories about the basilisk must have been exaggerated, whereas in fact if anything they had played down how big it was.

They searched the Chamber proper and there wasn't anything left out there except for the cast off skin and the dead basilisk. That meant that they had to find out exactly what was inside of Slytherin's bust. The curse breakers first went over it to see if there were any obvious curses, then the goblin guards readied their weapons before Harry called out. " _Open!_ " in Parseltongue, just in case there were any surprises waiting for them inside, such as more basilisks. Fawkes had come with them in case there was anything to be faced.

Just as they were hoping, a door opened in the side of the bust, and the curse breakers checked again for curses or wards, and tested for anything living inside as well, before they entered. While they didn't find any more monsters there was a moment of panic when they found the chamber where the basilisk had resided, because there were a dozen shed skins in there, ranging from twenty to over sixty feet in length. At first sight those skins looked like a horde of the monsters, so it was a relief to find that they were just shed skins, and once that fact had been confirmed the goblins' eyes gleamed, because each of these was worth a small fortune, the bigger ones a not so small fortune.

Another thing that made the goblins' eyes gleams was the magical feeding and watering systems that Salazar Slytherin had provided for his pet, because they desired to obtain them for the dragons under Gringotts. Seeing their reaction, Angela gave a very goblin grin as she was looking forward to negotiating that, they would get them for a fair price, but they would have to work for it. Her grin was all the wider because she knew that they'd enjoy the negotiations as much as she would, goblins didn't enjoy an easy victory, that was for the weak.

What made Hermione's eyes light up was finding Slytherin's private library. Gringott's curse breakers would have to test each book for curses before they were moved, but they would make a priceless addition to the Potter family library, even more so than the books in Lord Gryffindor's vault because it had only been a selection of his books that had been placed in there. Salazar and Godric's magical portraits were also moved to Potter Manor. There were other treasures in sealed chambers behind the bust, including the riches of Salazar Slytherin because he didn't trust the goblins. The initial estimate of the very experienced goblins who looked into the vaults was that this would increase the Potter fortune by at least a quarter. What was in the treasure vaults would also be tested for curses and dark objects before they were moved, especially as Riddle had been down there.

What the original party insisted on was that Slytherin's library and treasure were Potter property by right of conquest, while the proceeds of the basilisk, skins etc could to be shared between the original party, except Ronald Fudge of course. The arguments they had over the split of the proceeds were that all of them argued that their share should be much less than was than what was proposed. This meant that the split was extended to include the rest of their group who hadn't gone down there with them to be getting lesser shares, and Ginny and Tonks as well. Plus payments to the two boys who had been petrified. They also specified that enough of the skin of the basilisk that Harry killed would be put aside to make a lifetime supply of armour for all of them, taking into account the fact that most of them were still growing.

Once the estimates on value have been made and agreed, they left the ones who would be processing what was in the Chamber there with Potter elves to transport them and what they were working on out of there, and went back to Gringotts to negotiate. They were quite aware of the honour being offered when the Head Goblin handled these negotiations himself. They could also see that he was enjoying himself, getting a good battle over the negotiating table when he went head to head with Angela, Hermione and Harry. In the end, they signed the agreement for a very small percentage of the proceeds, which would still make a substantial profit for Gringotts, and the Head Goblin had agreed for the goblin guards and curse breakers who were attached to the Potter Estate as vassals could get shares of the proceeds, though he did reduce the shares for them quite a bit from what was being proposed.

When the split was changed by the Head Goblin, Harry got agreement from the rest of the original party to add a contract for Gringotts to investigate the condition of Frank and Alice Longbottom and if possible provide the cure that St. Mungo's obviously couldn't for their condition, to be paid for out of the proceeds. Harry, Hermione and Tonks explained about the marvellous discoveries and advances that had been made possible in the non-magical world through medical research over the past century. There was no need to point out to the others how the arrogant pureblood attitudes in the magical world that their families had known everything worthwhile for generations meant that Frank and Alice had been sitting in St. Mungo's for the past decade without any treatment or help for their conditions, or how their care was limited to keeping them alive, all present knew that. Madam Longbottom and Madam Bones were called to Gringotts, and when Augusta agreed to this, they made the arrangements for Neville's parents to be transferred to Gringotts for treatment.

The final outcome of the negotiations satisfied all involved, with the caveat of many that they didn't believe that they deserved what they were getting. Those involved would become wealthy and the rest of House Potter would be made quite well off as well. The prospect of hopefully helping Neville's parents was something that they were all behind though. With that handled, they started discussing what to do with the Chamber itself once it had been cleared out, because a magically maintained hidden chamber that was almost impregnable to anyone but the Potter elves and Fawkes, that had a lot of potential.

* * *

Remus was poring over the Marauder's Map again, looking for any further sign of Sirius Black inside Hogwarts, but he suddenly blurted out. "What the bloody hell is going on?" He didn't see Sirius Black, but what he did see was the name of someone who Black had supposedly slaughtered eleven years ago, Peter Pettigrew.

He tore out of Potter tower and raced to the part of the castle where he'd seen Pettigrew on the map, so enraged and confused that he was fighting the transformation. Angela and Tonks ran out on his heels, and they caught him shaking Ron Fudge, demanding to know where Peter Pettigrew was. Fudge Junior was whining that he didn't know what the hell he was talking about because no-one else was here, and that he'd scared Scabbers off, being mental like that, so now he had to find him. As Pettigrew obviously wasn't in that corridor, Angela got Remus to let the boy go and they took him back to the tower.

Angela was worried, because Remus was insisting that the map had shown that Peter Pettigrew was in that corridor, but no-one was there but the Fudge boy. She and Tonks had cast 'finite incantum' spells to reveal anyone using disillusion spells, but nobody had shown up, the map showed no secret passages there and there was no way that a man could have disappeared there. She knew that the full moon was coming up and wondered whether that was causing Remus to imagine things. But why would he suddenly start imagining Peter Pettigrew? Thinking he saw Sirius Black everywhere she might be able to understand, but why Pettigrew?

Something in the back of his head was gnawing away at Harry's memory about this, but it was eluding Harry when he tried to put his finger on it, so he was getting very frustrated and short with everyone except Hermione. With both Remus and Harry 'off' at the moment, it was setting the rest of the group off, so Angela and Hermione talked it over and decided that they needed to go on the Hogsmeade visit the next day. Angela would stay with Remus, and Tonks would escort the students, along with the disillusioned goblin guards, of course.

The next day, it didn't take long for Harry and the others to agree that the Hogsmeade visit had been a good idea, as they had a great time stocking up on sweets in Honeydukes and spending time browsing Zonko's and Dervish & Banges, picking up more than a few items in those stores too. After a while though, Harry, Neville and the twins were shopped out. The writing was on the wall when the twins left Zonko's of their own accord, so when the idea of finishing their visit with butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks was floated, everyone jumped at the idea.

The Three Broomsticks was so crowded that someone was bound to have bumped into the disillusioned goblin guards if they were in there, so they waited outside. The twins went to the bar to get a round of butterbeers from Madam Rosmerta and had just returned when a gust of cold wind disturbed the warm, smoky atmosphere. Looking up, they saw Professor McGonagall and Flitwick walk in the door with Hagrid and Minister Fudge.

The fact that they were here rather than at Hogwarts said that this was a clandestine meeting, so Harry and the others wanted to hear what was said. Luckily, the Three Broomsticks was already decorated for the upcoming Easter celebrations, and the booth beside them was all but hidden by a big fluffy bunny who's ears scraped the ceiling. Harry saw the group who entered looking at the bar, trying to attract Madam Rosmerta's attention as he heard Hermione whisper "Mobiliarbus". The bunny lifted just off the floor and drifted across to cover their booth while Tonks cast a subtle notice me not charm over the booth to induce people to ignore what was behind the bunny.

Madam Rosmerta looked around and pointed to the empty booth beside them, confusion crossed briefly over her face as she wondered how it could be empty, but she just shrugged to herself, thinking that the people must have just left and she'd missed them in the bustle. As they squeezed into the indicated booth, Harry had to stifle a snort because with Hagrid and the Minister in there, the four of them filled the booth almost as much as the unnoticed ten in the next booth. Madam Rosmerta came over to take their orders, and the Minister tried to flirt with her, asking her to join them. Rosmerta had to cover up the shudder that Fudge's attentions always induced, but she was a shrewd witch who knew that being on the Minister's good side was never a bad thing, so she smiled as she replied. "Well of course, thank you very much, Minister." before going off to get the drinks.

In the next booth, Harry and the others were looking at each other, wondering what was going on, and Hermione took Harry's hand to settle him, the girls all shared an 'Awwww' look as it had the desired effect and he lovingly lifted their joined hands to gently kiss her's in thanks. Rosmerta returned and sat with the four next door, thankful that she was on the opposite corner to Fudge as he was squished into the corner by Hagrid on the other side of the table. She knew that Filius was a perfect gentleman, so sitting next to him was something she was totally comfortable with. In his own way, so was Hagrid, so any rubbing knees with him under the table was, she knew, completely accidental. With them all settled, drinks in hand, they started talking.

"So, what brings you to our neck of the woods, Minister?" Rosmerta prompted.

They could see him twisting in his seat as though he were checking for eavesdroppers. Then he said in a quiet voice, "What else, m'dear, but Sirius Black? Well, there is another matter that I'm here to deal with too, but I dare say you heard what happened up at the school a few nights ago?"

"I did hear a rumour," admitted Madam Rosmerta.

"What, did you tell the whole pub Hagrid?" asked Professor McGonagall exasperatedly.

"Do you think Black's still in the area, Minister?" Madam Rosmerta asked in a whisper.

"Oh, I am quite sure of it," Fudge responded shortly.

"You know that those dementors of your's have already searched the whole village twice?" Madam Rosmerta asked him with an edge to her voice. "Scared half of my customers away they have... It's very bad for business, Minister."

"Madam Rosmerta, dear, I don't like them any more than you do," said Fudge uncomfortably. "Necessary precaution... unfortunate, but there you are... I've just met with some of them. They're raging against Dumbledore because he won't let them inside the castle proper."

"I should think not," said Professor McGonagall sharply. "How are we supposed to teach with those horrors floating around our students?"

"Hear, hear!" added the tiny Professor Flitwick.

"All the same, Minerva." demurred Fudge, "they are here to protect you all from something much worse... We all know what Black's capable of…"

"Do you know, I still have trouble believing it," said Madam Rosmerta thoughtfully. "Of all the people to go over to the Dark Side, Sirius Black was the last I'd have thought... I mean, I remember him when he was a boy at Hogwarts. If you'd told me then what he was going to become, I'd have said you'd been hitting the firewhiskey a mite too much."

"You don't know the half of it, Madam." said Fudge gruffly. "Because the worst he did isn't widely known."

"The worst?" asked Madam Rosmerta, her voice alive with curiosity, "Worse than murdering all those poor people, you mean?"

"I certainly do!" said Fudge.

"I canna believe that. What could possibly be worse?"

"You say you remember him at Hogwarts, Madam Rosmerta?" murmured Professor McGonagall. "Do you remember who his best friend was?"

"Naturally." laughed Madam Rosmerta. "You never saw one without the other, did you? The number of times I had them in here….. ooh, they used to make me laugh. Quite the double act they were, Sirius Black and James Potter!"

Harry dropped his tankard with a loud clunk. Hermione squeezed his hand.

"Precisely," said Professor McGonagall. "Black and Potter. Ringleaders of their little gang. Both very bright, of course….. exceptionally bright, in fact, but I don't think we've ever had such a pair of troublemakers…."

"I dunno," chuckled Hagrid. "Fred and George Weasley may give 'em a run fer their money."

"You'd have thought Black and Potter were brothers!" chimed in Professor Flitwick. "Inseparable!"

"Of course they were," said Fudge. "Potter trusted Black beyond all his other friends. Nothing changed when they left school. Black was best man when James married Lily. Then they named him godfather to Harry. Harry has no idea, of course. You can imagine how the idea would torment him."

"Because Black turned out to be in league with You-Know-Who?" asked Rosemerta in a whisper again.

"Even worse than that, m'dear..." Fudge dropped his voice and proceeded in almost a low rumble.

"Not many people are aware that the Potters knew You-Know-Who was after them. Dumbledore, who was of course working tirelessly against You-Know-Who, had his spies on the other side. One of them had tipped him off, and he alerted James and Lily at once. He advised them to go into hiding. Well, of course, You-Know-Who wasn't an easy person to hide from, so Dumbledore told them that their best chance would be to use the Fidelius Charm."

"How does that work?" asked Madam Rosmerta, breathless with interest.

Professor Flitwick cleared his throat. "It is an immensely complex spell," he said squeakily, "involving the magical concealment of a secret inside a single, living soul. The information is hidden inside the chosen person, the Secret-Keeper, and is henceforth impossible to find…. unless, of course, the Secret-Keeper chooses to divulge it. As long as the Secret-Keeper remained silent, You-Know-Who could have searched the village where Lily and James were staying for years and never found them, not even if he had his nose pressed up against their sitting room window!"

"So Black was the Potters' Secret-Keeper?" whispered Rosmerta.

"Naturally," said Professor McGonagall. "James Potter told Dumbledore that Black would die rather than tell where they were, that Black was planning to go into hiding himself... and yet, Dumbledore remained worried. I remember him offering to be the Potters' Secret-Keeper himself."

"He suspected Black?" gasped Madam Rosmerta.

"He said that somebody close to the Potters had been keeping You-Know-Who informed of their movements, but he wouldn't say who." said Professor McGonagall darkly. "Indeed, he had suspected for some time that someone on our side had turned traitor and was passing a lot of information on to You-Know-Who."

"But James insisted on using Black?"

"He did," said Fudge heavily. "And then, barely a week after the Fidelius Charm had been performed…."

"Black betrayed them?" breathed Rosmerta.

"He did indeed. We determined that Black was tired of his double-agent role, he was ready to declare his support openly for You-Know-Who, and he seems to have planned this for the moment of the Potters' death. But, as we all know, You-Know-Who met his downfall in little Harry Potter. Powers gone, horribly weakened, he fled. And this left Black in a very nasty position indeed. His master had fallen just as he, Black, had shown his true colours as a traitor. He had no choice but to run for it…."

"Filthy, stinkin' turncoat!" Hagrid said, so loudly that half the bar went quiet.

"Shh!" said Professor McGonagall.

"I met him!" growled Hagrid. "I musta bin the last ter see him before he killed all them people! It was me what rescued Harry from Lily an' James's house after they was killed! I jus' got him back to my cottage, poor little thing, with a great slash across his forehead, an' his parents dead... an' Sirius Black turns up, on that flyin' motorbike he used ter ride. Never occurred ter me what he was doin' there. I didn' know he'd bin Lily an' James's Secret-Keeper. Thought he'd jus' heard the news o' You-Know-Who's attack an' come ter see what he could do. White an' shakin', he was. An' ya know what I did? I COMFORTED THE MURDERIN' TRAITOR!" Hagrid roared.

"Hagrid! please!" Professor McGonagall hissed. "Keep your voice down!"

"How was I ter know he wasn' upset abou' Lily an' James? It was You-Know-Who he cared abou'! An' then he says, 'Give Harry ter me, Hagrid, I'm his godfather, I'll look after him….' Ha! But I'd had me orders from Dumbledore, an' I told Black no, Dumbledore said Harry was ter go ter his aunt an' uncle's. Black argued, but in the end he gave in. Told me ter take his motorbike ter get Harry there. 'I may not be needing it much longer.' he says."

"I shoulda known there was somethin' fishy goin' on then. He loved that motorbike, he did, what was he givin' it ter me for? Why wouldn' he need it anymore? Should have known, it was too easy ter trace, ya see? Dumbledore knew he'd bin the Potters' Secret-Keeper. Black knew he was goin' ter have ter run fer it that night, knew it was a matter o' hours before the Ministry was after him."

"But what if I'd given Harry to him, eh? He prolly would've pitched him off the bike halfway out ter sea. His bes' friends' son! But when a wizard goes over ter the Dark Side, there's nothin' and no one that matters to 'em anymore.…"

A long silence followed Hagrid's story. Then Madam Rosmerta added with some satisfaction, "But he didn't manage to disappear, did he? The Ministry of Magic caught up with him the very next day!"

"Alas, if only we had," said Fudge bitterly. "It was not us who found him. It was actually little Peter Pettigrew, another one of the Potters' friends. Maddened by grief, no doubt, and knowing that Black had been the Potters' Secret-Keeper, he went after Black himself."

"Pettigrew... that fat little boy who was always following them around at Hogwarts?" asked Rosmerta.

"Yes, he hero-worshipped Black and Potter," said Professor McGonagall. "He was never in their league, talent-wise, of course. I must admit that I was rather sharp with him about his failings more often than I should have been. You can only imagine how I how I regret that now..." She sounded as though she had a sudden head cold.

"There, now, Minerva," said Fudge kindly, "Pettigrew died a hero's death. Eyewitnesses... muggles, of course, so we wiped their memories straight after... told us how Pettigrew had cornered Black. They say he was sobbing. 'Lily and James, Sirius! How could you?' and then he went for his wand. Well, of course, Black was much quicker. He just blew poor Pettigrew to smithereens.…"

Professor McGonagall blew her nose and said hoarsely, "Foolish boy … stupid boy really... he was always hopeless at duelling... he should have left it to the Ministry.…"

"I tell yeh, if I'd got ter Black before little Pettigrew did, I wouldn't 've messed around with wands…. I'd 've ripped him limb from limb," Hagrid growled.

"You don't know what you're talking about Hagrid!" Fudge snapped dismissively.

"Nobody but trained Hit Wizards from the Magical Law Enforcement Squad could have stood a chance against Black once he was cornered. I was Junior Minister in the Department of Magical Catastrophes at the time, and I myself was one of the first on the scene after Black murdered all those people. I…. I will never forget it. I still dream about it sometimes. A crater in the middle of the street, so deep it had cracked the sewer below. Bodies everywhere. Muggles screaming. And Black standing there laughing, with what was left of Pettigrew in front of him... a heap of bloodstained robes and a few…. a few fragments…."

Fudge's voice stopped abruptly. There was the sound of five noses being blown.

"Well, there you have it, Madam Rosmerta," Fudge said importantly. "Black was taken away by twenty members of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad and Pettigrew received the Order of Merlin, First Class, posthumously of course, which I think must have been some comfort to his poor mother. Black's been in Azkaban ever since."

Madam Rosmerta let out a long sigh. "Is it true he's mad, Minister?"

"I wish I could say that he was," said Fudge slowly. "I certainly believe his master's defeat unhinged him for a while. The murder of Pettigrew and all those muggles was the action of a cornered and desperate man... cruel... pointless. Yet I met Black on my last inspection of Azkaban. You know, most of the prisoners in there sit muttering to themselves in the dark; there's no sense in them... but I was shocked at how normal Black seemed. He spoke quite rationally to me. It was unnerving. Yes, I was astounded at how little effect the dementors seemed to be having on him... and yet he was one of the most heavily guarded in the place, you know. Dementors outside his door day and night."

"But what do you think he's broken out to do?" asked Madam Rosmerta. "He isn't trying to rejoin…. You-Know-Who, is he?"

"I… ah… daresay that will be his… ah….eventual plan," said Fudge evasively. "But we hope to catch him long before that. I must say, You-Know-Who alone and friendless is one thing... but give him back his most devoted servant, and I shudder to think how quickly he'll rise again.…"

There was a small chink of glass on wood. Someone had set down their glass.

"You know, Cornelius, if you're to be dining with the headmaster, you'd better head back up to the castle." said Professor McGonagall.

With that, the group left the booth, Professor Flitwick kissed Madam Rosmerta's hand and she embraced Professor McGonagall and Hagrid, then she quickly said that she was needed behind the bar and bolted before Fudge could squeeze out of the booth.

After the four had left the Three Broomsticks, Hermione moved the bunny back in front of the next booth and they quietly slipped out of the pub themselves. Standing outside and talking about what they'd heard, the first thing raised was that Professor McGonagall and Flitwick were almost certainly trying to get information out of Fudge and they were bound to come and tell them about this very soon. None of them had any doubts about that, and the location for the discussion made more sense now, too, as Fudge obviously had the same sort of stupid crush on Madam Rosmerta that his idiot son did, so if they talked there he was bound to say more to try and impress her, as he did.

What had raised doubts, though, as the so-called _proof_ of Sirius Black's guilt that he'd presented, what they supposedly got from those muggle eye witnesses before they obliviated them and destroyed the evidence, it sounded as if it had come from a cheap soap opera script. They'd ALL said that they couldn't believe that Sirius could do that, but apparently no-one had questioned it at the time. When this was added to what he'd said to Hagrid, as if he wasn't sure he'd survive what he was about to do (hardly what one would expect of a ruthless killer as he was portrayed going to cover his tracks), not to mention the question of how a 'Junior Minister in the Department of Magical Catastrophes' could have gotten there before the hit wizards. Then there was what Madam Bones discovered about there never being any investigation, testing for charms or trial done before he was thrown into Azkaban with no-one ever being able to question him…. Well they were starting to wonder whether what everyone _knew_ about Sirius Black was in fact the truth.

* * *

While they were talking about this outside the Three Broomsticks, Tally popped up to say that Mister Remus had seen something on the Marauder's Map and ran out of Potter Tower in a fury, and Miss Angela had sent her to get them. This time Miss Angela saw the same thing Mister Remus did on the map, and it was showing Sirius Black _and_ Peter Pettigrew heading out of the castle. Miss Angela told her to tell them that Mister Remus had said something about the Shrieking Shack as he ran out, so she believed that that was where they were going.

They all took off, running for the Shrieking Shack, not knowing that Fudge had brought along a group of Aurors that he had in his pocket with him for his _other_ business, and one of them had heard Remus shouting about Sirius Black and the Shrieking Shack, so they were currently headed for the shack as well.

Tonks tried to no avail to stop Harry and Hermione when they changed to their animagi wolf forms and bounded off, one a black coated dire wolf with green eyes while the other one was tawny coated with brown eyes. Tonks and the rest were quickly left behind, running as fast as they could.

The scene in the Shrieking shack when Harry and Hermione arrived was tense, to say the least. Remus was just barely managing to hold off the transformation that the imminent full moon and rage and confusion over seeing Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew here in the same room when one should be in Azkaban and the other was supposed to be dead were pushing him to. He was trying to cast the spell to force the black dog and the rat in front of him to reveal their human forms, but in the state that he was in, he had little hope of forcing the weak willed Pettigrew to change, let alone Black. Angela arrived at the same time as the two wolves, and the sight of the wolves was enough to catch the dog who was chasing the rat's attention _before_ they changed into a boy and girl.

Sirius stopped chasing the rat and changed into his human form, starting to say. "Harry…." just as the rat tried to escape through a hole in the wall and it was simultaneously hit by the reversal spell from Angela, Harry and Hermione. The rat's nose was already in the hole, so Pettigrew was howling in pain from the scrapes on his face that had come from him being forced to expand into his human form with his face partway into the hole.

This was what the rest of them saw as they staggered in out of breath a few minutes later, a dishevelled looking, pudgy little rat faced man howling as though he was mortally injured, a wild eyed Remus looking from him to an equally wild eyed Sirius Black as though he was trying to decide who to attack first, and the rest of them looking confused.

Unfortunately, before they had chance to get control of the situation and start getting answers, Dawlish and the half dozen other 'Minister's Aurors' that Fudge had brought with him burst into the room. They immediately started shouting that they were all under arrest and everyone swung around to cover them, which unfortunately gave Pettigrew his chance to change back into his animagus form and escape, because when Angela shouted. "Stand down Dawlish! Black's guilt is obviously questionable, seeing as we have Peter Pettigrew right here…."

Dawlish laughed. "Where? What are you talking about woman?"

When she whirled around point at Pettigrew, he was gone, and Dawlish told her to stop interfering in Ministry business before he arrested them as well. There was nothing they could do as the magical restraint manacles were put on Sirius and he was led out, but the second they were out of the room, Angela called for Dommy and she sent him to tell Madam Bones everything that had happened here and bring her back with him.

* * *

Back inside Hogwarts, Fudge and Dumbledore were toasting each other on Black's capture, each for his own reasons, when Madam Bones walked in and told them that Black was to be taken to the Ministry to stand trial the next day. She was looking at Dumbledore more than Fudge when she said that she had discovered irregularities in Black's incarceration, in that he hadn't stood trial at all, so to make sure that the legal requirements were met, he'd have to stand trial and be questioned under Veritaserum before he was sent back, but out of the corner of her eye she noticed Fudge jump even more than Dumbledore did.

Fudge of course assured her that he'd bring Black back with him after he'd dealt with the matter he came to Hogwarts for, which prompted her to ask what that matter might be. He tried to wave the matter away, saying that it was just the destruction of a dangerous creature that had attacked and injured a student in class. Susan had told Amelia about this, so she asked. "Are you referring to Buckbeak, the hippogriff, Minister?"

That made Fudge sweat again, as this was another under the covers deal that he'd made with Lucius Malfoy to get back at those who'd crossed him. "That may have been its name, but anyway, the creature attacked a student in class and it has been decided that it must be destroyed to protect the students."

"My niece happened to be in that class Minister, and she informed me that she and nearly everybody else who was actually _part_ of that class have given reports that told a very different story. The way I hear it, Draco Malfoy and his friends, as Second years, had no business being there at all, let alone interfering with and aggravating the hippogriff to the point where it retaliated against him. None of the students in the class had any trouble with Buckbeak or any of the other hippogriffs. What's more, I was told that there was supposed to be a hearing where they could have presented the evidence of what actually happened, but as the guardian of one of the students who were going to give the facts on what happened at that hearing, I have not been contacted to say that the date was changed, so I wonder when this hearing took place, and who presented evidence at it?"

Fudge looked as though he wanted to be anywhere but here. "I was informed that the hearing was held last week and it was found quite conclusively that the creature was irrefutably dangerous and that its destruction was the only possible path to take, so I am here to observe it and assure the wounded parties that justice has been served. You must understand Amelia, the boy was severely mauled and it took him quite some time to recover…."

Madam Bones cut him off. "Not from what I heard Minister, Madam Pomfrey, the Hogwarts healer, has reported that the injury was nothing but a minor gash that was healed in minutes and she only kept the boy there for half an hour because she was afraid that he was likely to do more damage to himself by fainting some place dangerous if she released him straight away. It sounds to me as though you have been seriously misled in this matter Minister."

"Yes, well, I will of course look into this more closely with this new information that you have provided Amelia, thank you for bringing it to my attention."

Amelia bowed her head to each of them in turn. "Minister, Headmaster." and then took her leave, heading straight to Potter Tower. She told them that Fudge was here to see the hippogriff destroyed, and that Malfoy had obviously gotten him to push it through. Obviously Fudge had believed that she'd headed back to the Ministry to organise Sirius Black's trial though, because Tonks was looking out the window and saw Dumbledore and Fudge heading towards Hagrid's cottage with Malfoy, Dawlish and McNair, the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures' Death Eater executioner.

They all knew that Hagrid would be devastated if Buckbeak was killed, and they wouldn't be happy to see the magnificent creature killed just to satisfy Malfoy's petty vendetta either, but even if they could get there in time to stop them killing Buckbeak, they'd have to go head to head with Fudge and the Ministry to stop it. Everyone was upset because they couldn't see any way to do this properly until Amelia suddenly stopped and turned to Hermione. "How are you handling that time turner Miss Granger?"

Hermione looked confused. "Well I've been using it for most of this year to do more lessons to try to catch up with Harry, as you know because you got it for me. What do you mean Madam Bones?"

"Have you used it with Harry or anyone else yet?"

"No, why?"

"Because it may be able to give you a way to beat those bastards without us having to go head to head with them. If you go back an hour, say, you can get down there soon enough to hide in the woods near Buckbeak. Fudge and Dumbledore will go inside to cover their arses with empty platitudes and so will Malfoy to taunt Hagrid with the death of his pet. They'll take Dawlish and McNair along in case Hagrid gets violent. While they're inside, you and Harry can release Buckbeak and get him away into the woods, Harry has already ridden him so he'll let him ride him again, which means that Harry can fly him away tonight to somewhere safe, but were in Merlin's name could a hippogriff under a death sentence from the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures be safe?"

Harry was nodding as she laid out the basis for a plan and spoke up. "Potter Manor, the wards there will keep him safe and the estate's quite big enough for him to live there and be free."

Hermione and the others nodded to agree that this plan could work, so Hermione pulled the time turner out of the front of her robes and was about to loop the chain around Harry's neck as well, but Amelia stopped her as she had more bad news. "As well as killing Buckbeak, I could see in Dumbledore and Fudge's eyes that they have no intention of allowing Sirius Black to be tried and questioned under Veritaserum tomorrow. I don't know why, but Fudge seems just as worried about Black's testimony as Dumbledore is…."

Harry cut her off. "We may able to shed some light on that Madam Bones..."

She looked at him, obviously impatient for him to continue, so he did, launching into the story that they'd heard in the Three Broomsticks. The others stepped in to add things that he left out, or present a different interpretation on something that they'd heard. Hermione finished with the telling comment. "I think Professor McGonagall and Flitwick took Minister Fudge there to get what he knew about Sirius Black's arrest out of him, as he was obviously infatuated with Madam Rosmerta and trying to impress her, I'm not certain whether Hagrid was there to draw the Minister out or tell what he knew through."

Amelia nodded thoughtfully at that, as usual, this young witch had latched onto the key issues quicker than most, even in this exceptional group. "Could we get Minerva here to ask her?" Harry nodded and sent Tally for her.

As soon as Minerva arrived, Amelia launched into it without giving her a chance to find her feet. "What were you and Minister Fudge talking about in the Three Broomsticks Minerva?"

Professor McGonagall was caught out and at first all she could say was. "What?" but she was an intelligent woman and understanding bloomed over her face soon enough as she nodded. "Of course you'd have watchers there Amelia. Cornelius has never gotten over the crush he's had on Madam Rosmerta since he was at Hogwarts, so Filius and I thought that if we could get him in there, he'd say a lot more, trying to impress her. It seemed the best way to get the information we need about Sirius Black." Amelia glanced at Hermione as she nodded. "And Hagrid?"

"I knew that poor Hagrid was involved at the time, so I thought that if he was there while Cornelius was telling the story, it might prompt memories from him that might not have come out otherwise."

Amelia nodded again. "And did it?"

Minerva nodded, and with a "Yes." she launched into the story. She didn't add many points that hadn't been covered, but it was a comfort to get confirmation of what she was doing with Fudge.

At the end, Amelia nodded. "It was actually these lot who saw you there Minerva, and heard the conversation, they were in the next booth. Hermione had worked out what you were doing there but I wanted to check, you understand?"

Minerva nodded, relieved, but her expression turned horrified when Amelia told her what they'd concluded from that, what they'd discovered in the Shrieking Shack and what Fudge and Dumbledore's reactions were to her saying that Black would have a trial tomorrow. "No! They can't afford for him to be questioned in a trial, they'll kill him, we have to get him out of here!"

Amelia nodded grimly. "Our Harry and Hermione here are going to save Hagrid's friend Buckbeak from the headsman's axe, and then they're going to save Sirius. If we do this right, it will look like Buckbeak escaped and Sirius somehow called him to rescue him, so Dumbledore and Fudge will have no recourse against anyone."

* * *

Everyone agreed to that, and when they'd sorted out a few more details, Tally returned Minerva to her office and the elves kept a watch on Fudge to make sure that they knew when they moved. They were hearing very interesting things in the discussions between Dumbledore and Fudge. Eventually, when it was dark enough to prevent anyone in the castle seeing the dementors, Fudge called the dementors in to order them to give Sirius the kiss to make sure that he wouldn't be able to tell any of their secrets in the trial the following day.

That was Harry and Hermione's signal to move. After they moved down to the stairs leading into Potter tower, Hermione pulled the time turner from the front of her robes again and looped the chain around Harry's neck as well. Then she gave it three turns to take them back three hours and Harry held onto her as they went through the port key like experience as they went back in time. Hermione gave Harry a quick kiss as she unlooped the chain from his neck and then they headed out of the castle.

Unfortunately they ran into Draco Malfoy with his goons as they tried to slip out, and Malfoy was feeling brave because his father was there, so he taunted them about Hagrid and Buckbeak. "Going to see your stupid giant friend are you? I expect he'll be needing a shoulder to cry on again because father has made the committee see sense, so they're killing that dangerous pet of his. I can't believe that they ever let something like him teach here, he's nothing but a creature himself! With any luck he'll attack the officials who are here to kill his pet and they'll deal with him as well."

He started laughing then, delighted with that idea, until Hermione laid him out with one punch and stood over him, screaming in his face. "If you or your family _ever_ try to do anything to Hagrid, the House of Potter will destroy you, you foul, evil creature!"

Draco was incensed that this dirty little Mudblood would have the gall to strike him and then threaten him and his family like that, and he went for his wand. He'd barely gotten the wand out and started to raise it at her when she was plucked back out of the way and the sword of Gryffindor blazed into existence in Harry's hand, cutting Draco's wand off just short of his hand.

Harry held the tip of the sword at Malfoy's throat as he spoke. "You and your father really are proof of the perils of inbreeding Malfoy! You have just drawn your wand on the betrothed of the head of a Noble and Most Ancient House which is so far above the Malfoy Family that I would not be allowed to sully myself in an honour duel with the head of your family, I would have to choose someone closer to his station to act as my proxy. I must check this with my Regent, but I do believe that with this last act, your actions so far should be sufficient provocation for House Potter to have the Malfoy Family wiped out of existence and I am seriously considering doing so."

The sword hadn't moved from his throat, and Malfoy hadn't moved either as he laid there in his puddle of piddle, frozen in fear. "This is your last warning Malfoy, stay away from me and my friends or I will destroy you _and_ your house, and as my betrothed has just told you, if you try and do anything against Rubeus Hagrid, you and your house will pay dearly, do you understand?"

Malfoy was too terrified to say a word, so Harry prodded him with the tip of the sword. "I asked you a question!"

"Yes! Yes! I understand!"

"Good, now go and get yourself cleaned up, because you stink. Then, as soon as you've done that, you will go and confess to Mister Filch who it was who fouled the halls with their piddle, and whatever else is leaking down your leg. You will do whatever Mister Filch tells you to clean up your mess, do you understand?"

"Yes! Yes, I will!"

Harry stepped back and flicked the sword down the hall to signal Malfoy to go, watching after him to make him run faster when he looked over his shoulder fearfully and caught him watching. He smiled grimly at the thought that even Crabbe and Goyle, who had been Malfoy's most stupidly loyal supporters up to now, had had enough rat cunning to run for their lives as soon as the sword of Gryffindor appeared. Even better, Harry was sure that when Malfoy told them what happened as he knew he would, that rat cunning would make them cut any ties with Draco Malfoy before he could drag them down with him.

* * *

As soon as Malfoy was out of sight, Harry sheathed the sword in the fang and put his arms around Hermione. She collapsed into him, but she quickly began to wrinkle her nose in disgust at the smell that Malfoy had left and suggested that they get out of there and get on with what they were going to do. Harry gave her a quick kiss and took her hand as they left the castle.

They quickly went to the cottage and told Hagrid that Fudge and the others were coming, but they had a plan to save Buckbeak, telling him that he couldn't tell _anyone_ , not even Dumbledore, if this was to have any chance to work and keep Buckbeak alive. They also told him to let Fudge and the others in and argue, beg, whatever he needed to do to try and keep them inside for as long as possible to give them more time to get Buckbeak away. Then they asked where he kept the ferrets that he fed to Buckbeak and slipped out. Harry grabbed the bag of ferrets before they went to hide in the woods, quickly stopping to say hello to Buckbeak and give him a ferret on the way past, hoping that he'd come quietly if he was looking forward to more treats.

Dumbledore, Fudge, Malfoy and the others came into sight just after they'd gotten far enough into the woods to be hidden. Hagrid's acting left a lot to be desired, but the ones who turned up didn't think that he was bright enough to be acting and went in as expected. Malfoy wasn't about to miss his chance to taunt Hagrid before Buckbeak was killed and Dumbledore and Fudge would be trying to make it clear that they had nothing to do with the decision, while the others went where they were told.

As soon as the door closed, Harry and Hermione dashed out to try and get Buckbeak free, but Hagrid hadn't told them about the Ministry padlocks on Buckbeak's chain and collar. Hermione fed Buckbeak another ferret and rubbed his beak, talking to him quietly to keep him quiet while Harry cast a spell to rip out the stake that was buried deep into the rock. They could only hope that Dumbledore and the others would believe that Buckbeak had somehow managed to tear himself free.

Hefting the long iron bar that was the stake over his shoulder, Harry led Buckbeak into the woods with Hermione up ahead waving ferrets to him, tossing him one from time to time so that he didn't think he was being teased. Harry was going to have the ferret duty because they had to pick up the heavy bag when they got into the woods and carry it, but the iron bar was heavier. They got Buckbeak deep into the woods and settled down to keep him company for a couple of hours.

While they were waiting, Harry used the sword of Gryffindor to cut the collar off Buckbeak's neck so that he was free. When he did this, Buckbeak rubbed his head against him in thanks, but then he threw his head back and bugled a series of cries. Harry couldn't stop him doing this and was worrying that he'd lead the Aurors at Hogwarts to them, but Buckbeak stopped as quickly as he started. About fifteen minutes after that, Harry and Hermione heard heavy forms moving through the woods and took up defensive positions, but what came out of the trees was Buckbeak's herd. When they had all arrived, Buckbeak made another series of low cries and to Harry and Hermione's amazement, all of the herd bowed to them, they of course returned the hippogriffs' bows and greeted them, and somehow the clearing no longer felt so lonely or hopeless.

Buckbeak's herd was obviously going with him, and Harry was delighted at the idea of having a herd of hippogriffs living on the grounds of Potter Manor, but this also meant that they now had a way of ensuring that the stake, chain and collar that had been used to secure Buckbeak wouldn't be found in the Forbidden Forest. Harry bundled up the stake, chain and collar together so that it could be picked up by one of the hippogriffs more easily, so the hippogriff would just have to swing out over the coast on the way down to Potter Manor and drop the bundle into the sea, it'd never be found then.

* * *

As planned, Amelia had gone to 'question' Sirius, because Fudge's pet Aurors could hardly tell the Director of the DMLE that she wasn't allowed to talk to the prisoner alone, and she'd filled him in on the rescue plans, helping him hang the piece of white silk out the window so that they'd know what window to come to. Sirius wasn't too happy about the bit where he had to stand in the window with his arms outstretched so that the hippogriff could sweep in, grab him as if he were prey and carry him off like that, but after what Amelia told him about what Dumbledore was doing, how Malfoy owned Fudge and half the Ministry, and that Snape was now a Hogwarts teacher now he had to accept that this was the one and only viable option he had.

Harry was dreading seeing Tally or Dommy arrive to say that they had to go now, because that would mean that Fudge and co had decided to get rid of Sirius ahead of schedule because Buckbeak had disappeared before they could kill him or something, but the sun went down and it became dark enough for the rescue without any warnings, so he and Buckbeak took off and headed for the tower where Sirius were being held.

Sirius had been waiting for the sound of the hippogriff's wings, so as soon as he heard that he leapt to the window, opening it wide and turning to stand with his arms outstretched, leaning out of the window a little to make it easier to be grabbed. He thought that his arms were being ripped off when Buckbeak's talons closed around his arms and he was plucked out, but Buckbeak held him securely all the way back to the clearing in the forest, dropping him relatively gently to the ground before he backwinged to land ten feet behind. Harry hugged Buckbeak and thanked him before he ran to Sirius to make sure he was OK.

Time was of the essence now, as the dementors would be looking for them as soon as they found he was gone. Harry told Sirius the secret for Potter Manor and with that, Sirius remembered how to get there. One of the other Hippogriffs took hold of the bundle that Harry had made up and Sirius greeted Buckbeak before climbed onto his back, then the hippogriffs all bounded into the air, their wings whooshing as they gained height and headed off in a big arc around Hogwarts. As soon as they were out of sight, Dommy popped Harry and Hermione back into Potter Tower.

 **A/N: Again, harvesting the basilisk and healing Neville's parents isn't new, but they're both obvious and sensible things to do, and snakes keep shedding their skins as they grow, so there had to be more than one basilisk skin. Magical feeding bowls for the basilisk was in another story I read, but once again, if it was growing larger in the Chamber of Secrets, it had to be being fed. If it was held in stasis in the Chamber it would still be twenty foot long, not sixty or more.**


	12. Fee Fi Fo Fum

**Usual disclaimers, no rights to any characters portrayed and this is neither the real world nor a Disney Princess tale.**

Harry and Hermione hardly had a chance to get cleaned up and changed into indoor clothes before Dumbledore was demanding entry into Potter Tower. They let him and Fudge in, but blocked Dawlish, the rest of the Aurors and McNair. Dawlish, Fudge and Dumbledore were all demanding that the goblin guards let them pass, but Harry cut them off with the calm, commanding voice that Dumbledore should know by now.

"No. This tower is legally a home of House Potter, and as such, none can command us to allow any of questionable character or intent to enter. I have already been given cause to question _your_ Aurors today Minister, and there's no doubt of the questionable character and intent of a Death Eater. These men will not enter the domain of House Potter, and any attempt to force entry will result in their destruction. Do not worry Minister, on the honour of House Potter, your safety will be guaranteed while you are here."

Harry didn't mention that he'd love to see McNair try to cross the wards of Potter Tower, because his dark mark would probably burn his arm off, if not more, once he was within their wards.

Fudge proved that he didn't get where he was on his intelligence. "That is not good enough for me Mister Potter, I demand that you allow my guards to enter so that they can protect me!"

Fudge obviously didn't get there by courage either, because he just about wet himself when Harry growled his response, channelling his animagus form. "For a start Minister Fudge, it was my understanding that only _Auror_ Dawlish is assigned to be your guard, so these others have no place being here. I will be raising the question of why they are here and also why you would call a Death Eater executioner _your_ guard with the DMLE..."

"More importantly, you have questioned the honour and rights of one of the most powerful of the Noble and Most Ancient Houses in Magical Britain Minister Fudge! Regent! What recourse does the House of Potter have within the rules of the noble houses of Britain against this insult from….. just what is the minister officially?"

Angela didn't bother covering her anger as she responded. "Cornelius Fudge is a minor member of a minor family my Lord, much like the current Chief Wizard of the Wizengamot, and like him he has only managed to gain his position through the donations and support of those who wished to use him to further their own agendas. In Minister Fudge's case, his primary support is known to have come from the Malfoy Family..."

Harry cut her off there. "Oh yes, I wanted to ask you about that, the heir of the Malfoy Family drew his wand on my betrothed today, am I allowed to challenge him to an honour duel?"

Angela frowned. "My Lord, you really should pay more attention in your lessons! No, as the head of two Noble and Most Ancient Houses and heir to another, you may only challenge the head or heir of a comparable house, and the House of Malfoy is too far below House Potter for you to do that yourself. They're barely a Noble House, so their status is so low that even your Champion would not be allowed to challenge them in his capacity as your Champion, though he could perhaps do so as your proxy, in the capacity of an ordinary member of House Potter acting on behalf of his House. We would be able to take other measures against the Malfoy Family though, as he is the heir."

Harry put on a show of being angry about that as he grudgingly said. "Very well, thank you Regent, now what of these?" He waved his hand to include Fudge, Dumbledore and Dawlish.

"As far as challenging them, they're even less acceptable than the House of Malfoy. On top of that, their standing within their own families is not high enough for us to go after the families without first allowing the heads of their families the opportunity to irrevocably banish them from the family. You would be within your rights to destroy them and their immediate families though."

"Would it be worthwhile to House Potter to do this?"

"Not in the terms of gold from what our goblin friends have told us, apparently at best they owe almost as much as they own, but there could be satisfaction to be had in dealing with those who have wronged House Potter. The son of the minister in particular comes to mind as he continues to breach the terms under which he was allowed to remain at Hogwarts."

Harry nodded thoughtfully. "Thank you Regent, I will consider that."

With that, he turned back to the sweating Fudge and furious Dumbledore. "Do you withdraw your slight on the honour of my house and accept the protection of my house at this time within this domain of House Potter Minister Fudge?"

Fudge dropped to his knees, terrified, as he had no doubt that they were quite capable of doing what they'd just been discussing as though he and the rest of them weren't there. "Yes Lord Potter! I humbly beg your forgiveness for my unintentional slight against the honour of your house and gratefully accept the protection of House Potter while I am here!"

Harry turned to Dumbledore. "Mister Dumbledore?"

Dumbledore's eyes were blazing with rage and the desire to strike out, but he knew that he wouldn't survive it he tried anything here, so he bowed his head. "Of course _Lord_ Potter, I would gratefully accept the protection of House Potter, though I am sure that _Minister_ Fudge meant no slight against your house."

Harry calmly looked the self styled leader of the light in the eye as he corrected him. "The offer of protection applies only to your presence here and now, inside what is a residence of House Potter Mister Dumbledore, it does not extend to any other occasions or locations. You would do well to remember that. Now, what have you come here to discuss? I find I grow weary from the events of the day."

Dumbledore took it up to prevent Fudge's stupidity causing more problems. "Sirius Black was apparently assisted in his escape tonight from the tower where he was being held prior to being taken to stand trial in front of the Wizengamot for his crimes against your family, Peter Pettigrew and others. We were hoping that you might be able to provide some information in regard to that _Lord_ Potter?"

"What, you let him escape?" Harry turned to look at the doorway where Dawlish was glowering on the other side of his goblin guards. "Did you just let him walk out past you _too_? I will have to have a serious discussion with Madam Bones about the competency of her Aurors, how are we to be safe if they continue to let criminals escape?"

He stopped then and held up a finger. "I must clarify a point on the charges against Sirius Black though, the charge of murdering Peter Pettigrew was obviously false, because both my Champion and my Regent recognised Mister Pettigrew when he was forced out of his animagus form in the Shrieking Shack today. Actually, his animagus form was quite fittingly a rat and for the majority of the time since he was supposedly killed by Mister Black, he has reportedly been hiding as a pet of two brothers. One of them was your son Ronald actually, _Minister_ Fudge, and the other was his half brother Percy Crouch. It must be embarrassing for them to be found to be harbouring such a despicable criminal as that for all those years."

"This obviously calls the legitimacy of the rest of the charges against Mister Black into question, but I dare say that he would have little confidence in receiving justice because when Auror Dawlish and his men burst in with every appearance of attacking the lot of us in that room without provocation, Pettigrew was given the opportunity by them to change back into a rat and escape. This is another subject that I will have to raise with Madam Bones! So, what was it that you wanted to ask us _Minister_?"

Fudge was sweating up a torrent now, it was such a mistake to have come here, it had been a mistake to come to Hogwarts at all, but letting himself be talked into coming _here_ to make this boy tell them how Black got away, what was he doing? He owed his son, Dumbledore and Malfoy retribution for bringing him to this point, but the only one he could go after at the moment without fear of repercussions was his _son_. He regretted claiming _him_ more than any other thing that he'd done in the past! He tried to speak without shaking. "Please accept my most abject apology Lord Potter. I was led to believe that you had some knowledge of how it was that Sirius Black managed to escape, but I can see now that I was misled in this. Please forgive me for letting myself be swayed in this..."

Harry cut across his drivel. "Misled by who?"

He wasn't about to cover for anyone now. "Dawlish, McNair and Headmaster Dumbledore, Lord Potter."

"Oh? And what did they say to lead you to this belief?"

"Dawlish told me that you appeared to have been in collusion with Black when he found you earlier today. McNair said that you were the only ones who could have released the hippogriff that they heard taking Black from his room, and the Headmaster said that only you would have been capable of doing this."

"You apparently spend quite a bit of time listen to spurious claims about me and my house Minister Fudge. If Mister Dawlish had been that observant, he surely would have noted the presence of another man in that room when he burst in and attacked us, would he not? Yet he claimed that he did not see Peter Pettigrew at all, even though he was the one who let him escape. We have never met Mister McNair before this, so I find it highly suspicious that he would claim to have any knowledge of us and what we might be able to do where others could not. In fact I can think of only one person who could have told a Death Eater like McNair anything about us, another Death Eater who has attacked House Potter on more than a few occasions, Lucius Malfoy. Regent, please request that the Director of the DMLE arrange for McNair to be questioned under Veritaserum about this and his relationship to Malfoy." Angela just nodded and Harry went on without stopping.

"I could also question how your men, none of whom are to my knowledge noted authorities on magical creatures, are capable of categorically stating that what they _heard_ was in fact a hippogriff rather than for example, a thestral or even a dragon, but I will leave that with Madam Bones to determine Minister. It is your behaviour though, Headmaster, that I find most troubling. Why would you make claims of this nature against me and the House of Potter? What grounds do you have for accusing us of being involved in a criminal activity of this nature? No, don't answer that, we will pursue this matter through proper channels. Regent, please advise the Director of the DMLE that House Potter is requesting a formal hearing of the Wizengamot on this matter, as I expect that she will want to conduct an investigation to ensure that the members of the Wizengamot are provided with the relevant information for the hearing. Please inform her that in our view, the matters of Dawlish and McNair should be part of that hearing, and that we may include our case against the Malfoy Family in that as well, given that it appears that the Malfoys may be involved in this."

Dumbledore realised that he had pushed the boy too far this time, and this hearing would be a disaster for him, so he tried to talk the boy around. "Harry, let's not blow this out of proportion, obviously everyone was unsettled by Black's escape, and some things may have been said hastily, but there's no need to make a mountain out of a molehill. I really do believe that it will be in your best interest to just let this go. You will see in the morning that this was all nothing but a mistake."

Harry looked the old bastard in the eye. "As I have informed you before, Headmaster, in formal matters such as this I must insist on being addressed by my title, and the use of my given name is reserved for my familiars, a group that you are not part of. I and members of my house have been accused before witnesses of assorted criminal activities, some quite serious, by at least four members of the Ministry and Wizengamot. The fact that two of our accusers were the Minister of Magic and Chief Wizard of the Wizengamot means that this is most assuredly no _minor_ matter, and I would be failing my house if I did not get these unfounded charges against us formally addressed and resolved. I can assure you that I have no intention of failing the members of my house. You are correct that this was a mistake Headmaster, but it was not my mistake and I don't intend to allow my people to be hurt by it."

He turned to Rackclaw. "These gentlemen will be leaving now Rackclaw. You have my permission to cut any of their men who try to do anything in here down to size, I know how you object to them looking down on you. You might want to watch the Death Eater, I hear that he likes using that axe on any who he considers to be creatures and I believe that he would most likely regard Goblins as such. Don't worry, we are recording all of this so if anything happens you'll have proof that your actions were in self defence."

Rackclaw's eyes gleamed as he gave a particularly frightening goblin grin. "Thank you my lord!"

Harry turned his gaze on Fudge and Dumbledore and they departed. Dumbledore was moving much slower than Fudge's scramble to leave because he was determined not to be seen to be running away from a twelve year old boy and his entourage, even if he was.

* * *

Harry excused himself and went to his room, where a map of Britain was showing the progress of the tracking charm that he'd put on Sirius as it made its way to Potter Manor. He could see that they had another hour or two before they needed to get Dommy and Tally to take them to Potter Manor to bring Sirius and the hippogriffs inside the wards of the estate. It had been decided that Harry, Hermione and Angela would go to meet Sirius, Hermione to support Harry and Angela to question Sirius under Veritaserum. They trusted him, but if they were going to have any chance of clearing his name, they had to give Madam Bones as much information as possible for her to work with.

What they were proposing to give her was the recording and memories of what just happened in the Potter Tower Common Room and Sirius's questioning under Veritaserum, and also the memories from the room in the Shrieking Shack. This would be from the point where Sirius started to speak to Harry to avoid exposing Harry, Hermione and Sirius's unregistered animagi forms. The memories from the Shrieking Shack showed Pettigrew changing into his human form and and proved that Dawlish was lying when he said he hadn't seen Pettigrew, because he was clearly looking straight at him in shock before he said he hadn't seen anything. They were also throwing in the records and memories of what Lucius and Draco Malfoy had done which were being used in the case against the Malfoy Family.

They were there waiting for Sirius and the hippogriffs with Rohan and his centaurs when they arrived. Rohan was also there to greet Buckbeak and his herd, in hope of preventing any altercations between the hippogriffs and the centaurs, and luckily that meeting went well.

When they got Sirius inside, it was agreed that questioning him before he got cleaned up and tidied up would have more impact, so that was what they did. When he came back, washed, hair, beard and nails trimmed in clean clothes, Angela filled him in on the situation as he ate. After starving for most of the last eleven years, he was wolfing the food down, but Harry noted that his table manners were still far better than Ronald Fudge's.

Angela's first piece of news was enough to stop him eating. "You were never tried or charged, so you have been the head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black since your father died because your brother, who he named as heir in your place, pre-deceased him. This also means that Harry is your Heir as Lord Black and as soon as you are officially cleared, the guardianship of Lord Henry James Potter may revert to you. You will need to discuss the position of Potter Regent with Lord Potter. All you need to do to formally assume the title of Lord Black is go to Gringotts and have the Black ring accept you."

Harry let her finish before he responded. "No, Sirius may be my guardian but you are still the Potter Regent unless you are resigning from your responsibilities Angela." She only nodded, but Harry could see that his trust in her had made her more than a little emotional.

Sirius was quiet for a minute or two. "As soon as I'm accepted as Lord Black, I can cast out and reinstate Black family members, can't I?"

Angela had a good idea where this was going, so she nodded. "Yes Lord Black."

Sirius gave a wolfish grin. "Then by lunchtime tomorrow Bellatrix Lestrange, Narcissa Malfoy and Draco Malfoy will all be banished from House Black and any moneys, objects or properties rightfully belonging to the House of Black that is currently in the possession of the Lestrange or Malfoy families will be reclaimed by the House of Black. Andromeda Tonks and Nymphadora Tonks will be reinstated to their rightful places in the House of Black."

He hesitated. "Angela….."

"Yes Sirius?"

"I know that we weren't exactly close, before Lily and James were killed, but would you consider becoming the Regent for House Black as well? I remember how good you are with noble house politics, and I would feel more secure if you were wielding the Black votes in the Wizengamot."

Angela looked a question at Harry and at his nod said. "If I accept this Sirius, you must know that in the event of any conflict between House Potter and House Black, I will act in the interests of House Potter, is this acceptable to you?"

Sirius nodded. "I wouldn't have it any other way. I presume that this will be written into the agreement that we'll sign?"

Angela nodded as well. "Yes, we can get it witnessed and sealed at Gringotts tomorrow, because I need to deliver all of this (waving at the evidence they were putting together) into the hands of Madam Bones as soon as possible…"

"Sirius, the Houses of Potter, Longbottom and Bones are formally aligned, and the House of Gryffindor is included under the House Potter banner as Harry is now both Lord Potter and Lord Gryffindor, will you formally align House Black to House Potter?"

Sirius laughed at Harry's embarrassment. "You've certainly made some changes since you came on the scene, haven't you Pup? Yes Angela, as soon as I am formally accepted as Lord Black, I will align my house to House Potter. Just as a matter of interest, how much of a voting block does that give us?"

"Potter and Gryffindor together have forty three votes, because Harry has won or inherited the Potter, Flamel, Gryffindor and Slytherin holdings, Longbottom has twelve and Bones has ten, so with the Black votes we would have maybe eighty or more. We generally have the moderate and progressive votes with us, and with the most powerful dark house aligned to us, I hope to pick up more."

Sirius wasn't laughing now, he was shocked. "How in Merlin's name have you become the richest and most powerful Lord in Magical Britain at twelve Pup?"

Harry was too embarrassed to speak, because for all he was the powerful Lord Potter who could mostly force those who believed they ran everything to back down, inside he was still a twelve year old boy who didn't know how to explain this to his godfather who he'd just found.

Hermione hugged him and glared at Sirius over Harry's shoulder, and Sirius could see where Harry got some of his strength from. Angela tried to diffuse the situation by saying that they'd had a few adventures and made some discoveries over the past couple of years, and Harry was always in the middle of it. She finished by saying that they could talk about that when things had settled down.

Sirius could see that he'd made Harry uncomfortable and quickly agreed, and with that Harry and Hermione went back to Hogwarts. Angela waved off Sirius's apology, pointing out that he'd hardly had a chance to keep up his social skills in Azkaban with dementors for companionship, but she did snap his head off when he asked. "What's with the girl?"

"The _girl_ is Hermione Granger, his betrothed Sirius! Luna Lovegood, one of the other girls in the group, has a version of the sight, she doesn't see the future so much as she sees what others don't see. Tally, the house elf who's raised Harry for the past five years, also seems to see these things and she's been getting Hermione to come and hold Harry when he's having nightmares since they became friends a year and a half ago because that's the only thing that makes him feel better. One morning they slept in after one of these sessions and everyone was panicking when they couldn't find Hermione, so the girls burst into Harry's room, only to find them asleep, holding each other. Luna stopped them leaping to the wrong conclusion by explaining that the two of them were soul mates and that was why they connected the way they did, even if they wouldn't do anything for years. Harry and Hermione decided that they agreed with that when they talked it over that night, and with the connection they had, the words they spoke to each other was accepted as a magical betrothal. In time, Hermione will become Lady Potter and they'll live happily ever after, but for now she is his best friend and soul mate, and you will _not_ tease them about that Sirius Black!"

Sirius put his hands up in surrender, but Angela could see that he wasn't going to do anything to upset them, so she called a house elf to make sure his room was ready and then told him she'd be there to go to Gringotts with him in the morning. With that she went back to Hogwarts to look after Remus, because he had another couple of bad nights ahead of him until the full moon was past.

* * *

In the morning, everything went smoothly, Sirius was accepted as Lord Black, Angela was made the Black Regent under the agreed terms and they formally aligned the Potter and Black houses. By virtue of the fact that Angela was the Potter Regent and therefore had the favour of Gringotts, Sirius had all of the Black confirmation paperwork witnessed and registered by the Head Goblin and another high ranking goblin. While they were there, the Head Goblin gave Angela a progress report on how Frank and Alice Longbottom were going and how the sale and dispersal of funds for the rendered basilisk parts was going.

This of course prompted questions from Sirius and Angela and the Head Goblin explained what had been happening to his godson. Sirius's eyes just kept getting bigger as he heard story after story about what Harry had done and how he'd been expanding the standing, power, fortune and membership of House Potter. The question of why Harry hadn't claimed the title and power of Lord Slytherin by right of conquest when he claimed what was in the Chamber wasn't one that they could answer to Sirius's satisfaction because the idea of not claiming the full power and fortune of the House of Slytherin when he'd bested the Heir of Slytherin three times and Slytherin's protector as well because he deemed that to be a right of birth, not conquest, that was something someone who was raised within the pureblood noble house politics would never have done.

Sirius did convince Angela as the Potter Regent to authorise claiming ownership of the Slytherin vaults and properties and transferring everything to House Potter as he'd made the telling argument, which the Head Goblin had agreed with, that they could not afford to leave Slytherin's gold and holdings unclaimed for fear of having someone on the dark side managing to wrangle a valid enough claim to the title of Lord Slytherin and using the fortune to help the Death Eaters rise again. If someone came along with a valid claim to the title of the House of Slytherin, they could take it, but they wouldn't get the fortune and holdings that gave them the power to be a threat.

For all of that, the business at Gringotts didn't take long, and Sirius went back to Potter Manor while Angela went to the Ministry, quietly lodging the paperwork for the changes to House Black before sitting down with Amelia and going through what they had to present the case to the Wizengamot.

* * *

Over the next couple of months, the information was drawn out about the events that Sirius was accused of, as well as the identities and activities of the Death Eaters, most notably Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape, who were blatantly carrying on as though they were untouchable, secure in their belief that Fudge and Dumbledore would protect them. Dawlish and McNair were the key to this, as Dawlish said enough under the Veritaserum to manoeuvre Fudge into agreeing to be questioned about Sirius Black's arrest, and Fudge's evidence was enough to call all of charges against Sirius into question. They unfortunately didn't manage to make Dumbledore agree to questioning though, so they didn't get enough to have all the charges against Sirius thrown out.

Many in the Wizengamot were arguing that if Black was innocent, he should come forward and prove it, but it was Madam Bones, as the Director of the DMLE who pointed out that while he had agreed to be questioned under Veritaserum, until Peter Pettigrew was on hand to prove that the charges were false, Lord Black was hardly likely to come forward when the most likely outcome would be for him to be thrown straight back into Azkaban. Dumbledore had refused to step aside for the hearing on Sirius because there was no clear connection between him and Sirius's imprisonment. Under him, the Wizengamot wouldn't withdraw the charges against Sirius without Pettigrew there to testify under Veritaserum, but they did have to cancel the dementors' kiss on sight order, send the dementors back to Azkaban and call off the hunt for Sirius. Dumbledore knew that they'd have to throw out the charges if and when Pettigrew testified, but he was bloody minded enough to refuse to do anything without Pettigrew because he and others were angry about losing to Harry, Angela, Augusta and Amelia so often.

McNair was the final nail in the coffin for Malfoy, Snape and several other prominent Death Eaters. They managed to use his connection to Snape to make Dumbledore stand aside for that and his evidence was enough to force their questioning under Veritaserum, where they confessed to all of their previous lies and crimes, as well as some of their current plots, and revealed other active Death Eaters. This brought up rather damning evidence against Dumbledore, but unfortunately it wasn't enough to make him lose his positions in the Wizengamot or ICW, or get him charged with anything serious. At least over a score of prominent Wizengamot and Ministry members were exposed as Death Eaters, sentenced to Azkaban and stripped of their fortunes, and other Death Eaters like the Lestranges who were already in Azkaban were also stripped of everything they owned on the basis of what came out in the investigation. The Ministry got most of the gold that was taken this way, but Angela had won a case on behalf of the House of Potter to have the Malfoy Family dissolutioned, claiming all of their titles and holdings for House Potter. Augusta won a similar case against the Lestrange Family on behalf of the House of Longbottom, so both the Malfoy and Lestrange families ceased to exist and whatever power and fortune they had came to their victors.

* * *

One thing that they did achieve when all of the Death Eaters' houses and vaults were being cleared out was that the goblins and the Aurors searched everything for dark magic, and confiscated any dark objects that were found. These were all taken to the goblins to be destroyed, but the goblins extracted the dark magic from the sometimes priceless objects, then the objects were either returned to their rightful owners or sold if that wasn't an option. This was how they discovered Helga Hufflepuff's Cup, and the fact that Riddle had turned it into a horcrux.

The curse breakers in Egypt had located the scrolls that the curse breaker had remembered when they were testing Harry, and the magic and the intent behind this was exceedingly dark. The purpose of the horcruxes was to split the user's soul and hide the pieces so that they could not be killed, and part of the ritual required a murder to be committed before the horcrux could be created. When they found this, they realised that Tom Riddle's diary had also been a horcrux. This meant that three horcruxes had now been destroyed, but the question was, how many of them were there?

It was all but certain that the creation of the horcrux left in Harry had been accidental, given that Voldemort had killed his own body in the process, which in turn was taken to mean that they'd only located and destroyed two of the intentional horcruxes so far. Given that the experts believed that Riddle would have used the powerful magical number of seven, this implied that there were four more horcruxes (presuming that Riddle himself was counted as one piece) to locate and destroy yet. They also believed that the fact that one of the horcruxes that had been discovered had been hidden in an artefact of one of the founders of Hogwarts might be a clue to where to look for more, as while all the Hogwarts founders were held to be significant, Riddle would have never chosen any other founder over Salazar Slytherin.

* * *

The only two members of what had been the Malfoy and Lestrange families left outside of Azkaban now were those who used to be called Narcissa and Draco Malfoy. Narcissa had swallowed her pride and accepted her sister Andromeda's offer to come and live with her and her husband, but her son was having a much harder time at Hogwarts. Because Sirius had already banished Bellatrix and Narcissa from the House of Black, when the Malfoy and Lestrange families were dissolutioned, like she who had been known as Molly Weasley, they no longer had any family names, this meant that all members of those two families were now forced to use No-Name as a family name (as records have to list something as a family name).

Andi and Sirius talked to Cissi and Sirius told her that he would consider re-instating Cissi and her son to the House of Black, but first he needed to convinced that they had renounced the attitudes and beliefs that Lucius Malfoy had been trying to force on everyone. Cissi could accept that, and began working to adapt to her new circumstances and start a new life, but Draco couldn't or wouldn't let go of his belief that he was entitled to act as a lord and force everyone to his will, expecting others to do everything he said.

Given the fact that he now had no money or influence, not even Slytherins would have anything to do with him, and the fact that he no longer had Snape to protect him from the consequences of his behaviour either did not register with him. His refusal to do what he was told on detentions meant that he was soon put on detention seven days a week with Filch, and because his attitudes towards his aunt and uncle meant that he had nowhere to go for the summer holiday, he had to stay at Hogwarts until the start of the new school year. Those detentions were continued as a way of paying his board over the break.

His wilful rejection of any contact with his mother because she wouldn't hold to his Death Eater father's beliefs and attitudes was a large part of the reason that he didn't know that she was once again Narcissa Black and was in the process of building a new life for herself. Another part was the fact that she had become a vassal of the House of Potter and was working for them now, she wasn't about to tell her son about that with his current attitude and behaviour. Her previously being banished from the House of Black and the dissolution of the Malfoy family had made her forced marriage to Lucius null and void. With her son refusing any contact with her, this meant that the new Narcissa Black was free and clear of her previous life, and she had hope for the first time since she was a girl.

* * *

The goings on in the Wizengamot had little effect in Hogwarts, other than having a substitute potions master allocated to replace Snape, which improved the potions results for most students in their end of year exams. As planned, Luna and Ginny did their Second Year exams and received mostly 'O's, so they'd be going straight into Third Year in the new school year. The rest of them did their Fourth Year exams, Harry and Hermione got straight 'O's and the others got mainly 'O's with the rest 'E's, so they were all going into Fifth Year. Their non-magical education was proceeding at a similar rate, so they were all on track to be able to make their choice of either or both of the Magical or Muggle worlds after they did their Newts.

* * *

With the fears about and for Sirius gone, Malfoy, Snape and the Death Eater threat negated for now at least, and Dumbledore and Fudge keeping their heads down, for fear of what might happen to them, Harry had time to think about other things, and something that had been in the back of his mind since the events behind the Chamber of Secrets being opened came to the forefront, Rubeus Hagrid. There were many things that didn't make sense about Hagrid once it had come out that he had once been a student at Hogwarts, and that he'd expelled rather than failed.

Hagrid being almost a squib who wasn't too sharp was believable so long as he was only being compared to Filch, but this Hagrid could never have been a successful student at Hogwarts. For that matter, Harry was pretty sure that the bigotry against _creatures_ would have been even worse over fifty years ago, so as a half giant, Hagrid would have to have been quite impressive to get past the stupid/violent giant mindset to be accepted into Hogwarts. Professor McGonagall used her access as the Deputy Headmistress to dig out Hagrid's school results, and she was a lot more shocked than Harry to find that Hagrid had been doing quite well, up until he was expelled.

They used the promise of seeing Buckbeak to lure Hagrid away from Hogwarts, banking on the fact that finding out that Buckbeak's herd was with him would put him in a good enough frame of mind to put up with all the testing that the team of curse breakers that they were taking him to would be putting him through. Hagrid was given a story about going off to look after someone in his father's family to feed to Dumbledore, and as soon as Dumbledore swallowed that, Dommy and Tally grabbed him and popped him off to Potter Manor.

They led with Buckbeak and the herd, then gave him back his memories of swearing homage and fealty and why he agreed to have those memories taken from him. Then Harry told him about the interference that they'd already found in his mind, and his suspicions about Hagrid being bound to keep him a useful slave of Dumbledore. Hagrid could put what he was told together with many other memory holes and half memories and readily agreed to submit to the testing that they wanted to do.

When they took him to Gringotts, Harry also took him to introduce him to the Gringotts dragons, as one of the things he'd done for Gringotts since it was discovered that he was a Parseltongue was talk to their dragons for them. These discussions led to changes in how the dragons were handled there and improved their conditions, cooperation and effectiveness. While Hagrid's mind had been interfered with to a criminal degree, his love of dragons was all his, and it was a joy to see him stroking a dragon's head in awe.

When Gringotts' experts had tested Hargid, they were furious, and the experts from the DMLE and St Mungo's that Amelia sent to confirm their findings were just as enraged at the dangerous and criminal meddling to Hagrid's memories, intellect and magical core. While they didn't mention it to anyone but Amelia, Angela was certain that this was all Dumbledore's work, and the intrusive and dangerous changes that had been made, apparently uncaring of the effect on Hagrid or even whether he'd survive them, as many were truly dangerous, went back over half a century and were deeper than they'd found on anyone else. To all appearances, Dumbledore had bound Hagrid's intellect and magical core back when he talked the then headmaster into keeping him on as a Gamekeeper at Hogwarts.

They gave Hagrid the choice of whether he wanted them to attempt to remove the bindings on his intellect and magical core, because trying to remove them could be even dangerous than setting them had been. None of them were too surprised that he was adamant that he wanted them gone, and the people that Gringotts put together for the job spent over three weeks carefully removing them.

The man that emerged when they had removed the bindings was what Harry had envisaged he would have had to be to get into Hogwarts back in those days, and as such he was more than a match for any of the current professors at Hogwarts in intellect and magical power. Of course, His education was lacking, given he'd been expelled halfway through his time at Hogwarts, and reading books from the library hadn't been enough to give him everything he needed.

Another problem Hagrid had was his wand, because while he'd done a remarkable job repairing his father's wand after it was snapped, it had never been at all suitable for him. They brought in Garrick Ollivander to determine the proper wand for him, and Garrick's eyes lit up as he put together what would be required to create the perfect wand for Hagrid in his head, because no normal human's wand would be suitable for the half-giant.

Ollivander frowned as he looked at Harry though, because he could feel Harry's wand and knew that it was one of his, but he had no recollection of selling it to him. Harry sighed and had Dommy return the memory of that day to him, hoping that this wouldn't stop Hagrid getting the proper wand made for him. While Ollivander was understandably angry about having his memory removed without his permission though, the evidence of tampering he'd seen inside Hagrid when he was evaluating his wand needs showed that Harry had been correct in saying that Dumbledore could not be trusted, and he recognised that he'd been so determined to tell Dumbledore that he'd given him little choice at the time. Ollivander stopped at that point and asked that _he_ be tested for compulsions, as he suddenly realised that his determination to tell Dumbledore had been suspiciously strong.

They contacted Amelia again to have the DMLE's experts do that testing, and their anger increased when they found a deep seated compulsion to tell Dumbledore when Harry was matched to a wand, and what wand he got. With Ollivander's permission, Angela tested him as well and confirmed that the compulsion had Dumbledore's magical signature on it. While the DMLE's people couldn't identify who's signature it was, they confirmed that there were definite similarities to what they'd uncovered in Hagrid. Once their findings were recorded, the compulsion was removed from Ollivander. Amelia's case against the 'leader of the light' was building.

The rest of the summer break was spent giving Hagrid the magical training that he'd missed out on, but at first they mainly focused on his Occlumency training to help him mask the changes from Dumbledore. His training would be on-going, but he achieved the primary goal of being able to convince Dumbledore and anyone else that he was still the same simple Hagrid that he'd been when he went to help one of his great aunts on his father's side move and get settled into another family member's home when she couldn't look after herself any more. There was soon to be development that allowed him to tidy up his appearance and change his behaviour without attracting too much attention though, Hagrid got himself a girlfriend!

* * *

Dumbledore caused a wave of confusion and complaints to sweep through the Great Hall at the sorting feast of Harry, Hermione, Neville, Padma and Susan's third year at Hogwarts (where they were actually starting as Fifth Years with the twins, but Luna and Ginny were starting as Third Years with Draco No-Name and the others they started with, while Ronald Fudge just managed to scrape through to advance to Second Year on his second attempt). None of them had a good feeling about the new potions master and head of Slytherin that Dumbledore had announced, Horace Slughorn, because the creepy old man made their skin crawl, but that was nothing compared to the stir that Dumbledore created when he announced that the Quidditch cup would be cancelled that year.

He had to wait ten minutes for the noise to die down enough to announce that the Quidditch Cup was being cancelled because an age old tradition was being reinstated after over two centuries, the Triwizard Tournament. Dumbledore explained that the Tournament was a contest between the champions of Hogwarts, Beauxbaxtons and Durmstrang, as the three premier magical schools of Europe, and that it had been held every five years for over five hundred years, with the three schools taking turns to host the event.

He went on to say that the many previous attempts to reinstate the Tournament over the past two hundred years had failed, but Britain's own Departments of International Magical Cooperation and Magical Games and Sports had succeeded where all others had failed, bringing the Tournament back to Hogwarts. It was being brought back with the added restriction that only those students who had already reached their majority could enter, as the reason it had been stopped over two hundred years ago was that it was extremely dangerous to compete in, there had in fact been numerous injuries and fatalities in the tournament when it was being run.

There was considerable outrage among many of the students at this, as they saw this as them being blocked from having their chance at fame and fortune (because he'd made a point of telling them about the thousand galleon purse and 'eternal glory' that would go to the winning champion), and many didn't hear him saying that the heads of Beauxbaxtons and Durmstrang would be arriving in October with the selected candidates for their champion, or that the actual selection of the three most worthy to be champions would be made via a magical artefact, the Goblet of Fire. Harry almost missed this last himself, as he'd turned to look at Remus and Angela, and their expressions were as dubious as his was, none of them had any doubt that this was one of the old manipulator's plans, they just couldn't work out what he was playing at yet.

Their attention was called back to Dumbledore at that point, as he announced that because of the dangers involved, he would be personally ensuring that no students under the age of seventeen would be able to put their names into the Goblet of Fire. No-one in the Potter Group missed the fact that he was looking at Harry as he said that, but Harry shrugged, because he had no intention of playing the old man's games.

* * *

There was an incident the next day that had them wondering, though. Some Hufflepuffs were baiting Draco No-Name about the fact that he'd lost everything that he'd used to hold over everyone else and Draco was furious enough to pull out his wand (aggravated that the new one didn't work as well as the one that Harry had chopped off just short of his hand had) and cast a curse at them as they walked away, laughing at him. Professor Moody had been coming down the corridor and he transfigured Draco into a white ferret, which he then proceeded to bounce off the walls and floor of the corridor until Professor McGonagall came along and demanded to know what he was doing. When she realised that the ferret was actually a student she made Moody change him back and had some prefects take Draco to Madam Pomfrey while she berated Moody. The worrying thing about this was that while Moody had been paranoid and a little unstable for years, this behaviour was quite insane, he might have killed Draco, the way he was bouncing him around the corridor.

They kept an eye on Moody after that, but while he was more abrupt and aggressive than he'd been in the last school year, there didn't seem to be any re-occurrences of his behaviour with Draco, so they put it down to a mad moment that had been set off by Draco casting a spell at the other boys' backs. Dumbledore's other appointment, Slughorn, didn't seem to be causing all that much trouble. By all accounts he was actually quite a competent potions master, and aside from his repetitive whining about Harry Potter not being in his potions class and even more repetitive invitations to his 'exclusive soirees', he didn't bother the Potter Group much.

* * *

In the meantime, both Sirius and Hagrid were improving, Hagrid made a show of spending more time locked away in his cottage, which made it easy to have Dommy, Tally or Dobby pop him into Potter Tower for classes with Remus, Angela, Tonks or Rackclaw. Rackclaw was handling Hagrid's physical training, just as he had Harry and Remus's, and to a lesser degree Angela and Tonk's. The goblins approached physical training as combat training, so Hagrid would spend these hours twisting, leaping, dodging, striking and parrying. He stopped complaining when he realised how quickly he was developing his speed, grace, strength and agility, and his endurance was going up while he toned down quite a bit. By the time the other schools arrived, he had been doing this for nearly three months and his mirror was finding it difficult to find reasons to make disparaging comments at him. A magnificent goblin made giant's battle axe and short sword from Godric Gryffindor's trophies became Hagrid's weapons of choice for these battlerobics sessions.

Sirius was going through a similar physical regimen with the goblins at Potter Manor, though he was also being fed food aplenty and restorative potions to build him up after being starved for eleven years. Xeno and Arthur were also filling him in on what had been happening while he was incarcerated, something that Dan and Jean learned quite a bit by sitting in on, and in turn Dan and Jean taught the three purebloods about the muggle world. Sirius also used the facilities at the Manor to create more of the rune mirrors that he and James had used to communicate when they were back at Hogwarts.

He was kicking himself, because as he'd realised in the years that he'd been mainly left to his own thoughts, what they'd put aside as schoolboy toys when they finished at Hogwarts could well have saved James and Lily, and Frank and Alice for that matter, if they'd been using them to tell each other what was going on. The thing was, he'd confirmed that these mirrors could reach through any wards that they knew of, so they could be used to communicate with each other, no matter where they were. This was the reason he made enough to supply all of them, and a few other trusted associates like the Head Goblin as well, and insisted that they carry them at all times. Their mirrors were keyed to their magical signatures so they wouldn't work for anyone else.

With time on his hands, Sirius also experimented with other variants of the rune mirrors that he'd thought of, like smaller devices that only carried voices but otherwise had the same capabilities and could be carried and hidden far more easily than the mirrors (also keyed to their magical signatures), and other variants that had recording crystals so what they saw and heard could be played back. Amelia was excited about the recording versions, as they added sound to recording omnioculars and she could see so many opportunities to use them, for that matter she was excited about all of these magical objects and how they could be used.

* * *

This was the situation when the delegations from the other schools arrived at Hogwarts at the end of October. The Beauxbatons delegation arrived first, in a gigantic powder blue and gold flying carriage drawn by a dozen abraxans, enormous flying horses with palomino colouring. The first person to exit the carriage was just as imposing, because Madame Maxime, Beauxbatons' headmistress, was as big as Hagrid, well as tall as him anyway. Madame Maxime exchanged pleasantries with Dumbledore while the students she brought with her shivered, because coming from the south of France, they weren't dressed for Scotland in winter.

The headmistress seemed torn between getting her students inside out of the cold and making sure that their enormous horses were properly handled. She obviously lacked confidence in Dumbledore's assurance that Hogwarts' Care of Magical Creatures teacher would be able to handle the abraxans, pointing out how strong they were, but eventually gave in when he kept insisting that Hagrid was up to the job. Her parting shot was to ask that he be informed that the horses only drank single mat whiskey, which prompted one of the muggleborn students to mutter. "Bloody good thing we're in Scotland then!" which got a laugh from those who heard him.

They didn't have long to wait after the Beauxbatons delegation went inside before the lake started bubbling out in the centre, and masts and rigging began to rise above the surface, moving faster and faster until the ship's hull popped out of the water before splashing back down to the surface. It bobbed there for about half a minute before it began to glide towards the shore, obviously propelled by magic. As it reached the shore, anchors dropped fore and aft and a gangway grew from the ship to the shore. The Durmstrang delegation were obviously more prepared for the cold than Beauxbatons, as they were all bundled up in furs. They were led off the ship by their headmaster, Professor Karkaroff, who was a tall, thin man in some sort of silver grey furs, but his students looked like bears in the thick, matted furs that they were wearing as they followed him off the ship.

Once he and Dumbledore had greeted each other, Karkaroff wasted no time waving his trump card in their faces as he called one of his students to get inside out of the cold. As he came into the light, the student needed no introduction because everyone recognised him from the recent Quidditch World Championship match that had been held in England, it was Viktor Krum, the seeker from the Bulgarian national team.

Harry had a small laugh to himself as they followed the Durmstrang delegation into the castle, thinking that with any luck, the quidditch obsessed students would focus on Krum instead of the boy who lived now.


	13. Triwizard Tournament

**Well some reviewers are getting impatient, so here it is.  
**

 **There will be rather unpleasant and uncomfortable topics discussed towards the end of this chapter.**

 **Usual disclaimers, no rights to any characters portrayed and this is neither the real world nor a Disney Princess tale.**

When they went into the Great Hall, the Durmstrang students (who were all boys they noted) crossed the hall to the Slytherin tables, while the Beauxbatons students were seated at the Ravenclaw tables, which were beside the Gryffindor tables. They thought it strange that one of the Beauxbatons girls was sitting by herself at 'their' end of the table, so Padma and Luna sat down next to her and introduced themselves. Susan went and sat with Hannah at the Hufflepuff table as she always did at the official feasts.

They also noted that two extra settings had been added to the High Table on either side of Dumbledore's chair, Madame Maxime and Professor Karkaroff had taken two of them, but they wondered who the last two would be for. Dumbledore stood to make an unusually short for him welcoming speech and announce that the tournament would begin at the end of the feast, and with that food began appearing on the tables. The elves had pulled out all the stops for this, and French and Bulgarian dishes made up over half of the food on the tables.

The girl who Padma and Luna sat with was looking for French dishes, but at that end of their table there was only English or Bulgarian dishes, and she heard Hermione explaining the bouillabaisse dish to the purebloods who hadn't spent as much time as her on the continent. At that, she turned and asked if she might have some of the bouillabaisse, as she didn't recognise most of the food on her table, getting a bit of a shock when Hermione answered her politely in reasonable French and handed over the plate that Harry quickly filled for her.

After she thanked her and ate the bouillabaisse, she was surreptitiously looking to see whether there were any other French dishes on their table, at which Padma laughed and said that it would be easier if she moved over. Luna agreed, and all three girls moved across to sit with their usual group. It didn't take long for Susan to move across too, because she'd been having a hard time dissuading the interests of the Durmstrang boys who kept asking her and Hannah to join them, and the last straw was when Hannah moved across to sit beside Viktor Krum, obviously expecting her to come with her. She knew that Hannah would accuse her of abandoning her, but she'd made it clear that she didn't want to sit with them and Hannah had made the decision to join them without asking her, so she didn't feel that she owed her anything at that point.

When the Beauxbatons girl joined them and introduced herself as Fleur Delacour, they saw that she was a true beauty, with waves of white gold hair down her back and captivating blue eyes. Hermione could see the confused glances she was sending Harry, Neville and the twins' way and suddenly realised why she'd been sitting by herself. "Oh, you're Veela!"

Now most of them had confused looks as Fleur nodded and said "Oui!" so Luna explained about veela, reminding them of the uproar caused at the Quidditch World Cup when the allure cast by the Bulgarian team's veela mascots had almost made most of the spectators to forget about the World Cup and go chasing after them. Fleur was bemused and grateful of the matter of fact way that Luna explained veela allure and how most men, and many women, were taken over by it, and then went on to explain that that was why Fleur had been looking confused, because Harry was behaving as if she was just a pretty girl, and even Neville and the twins weren't staring at her with lust in their eyes, they were attracted to her, but they weren't being obvious, and this was an unusual experience for a veela.

Hearing Luna say that Harry and Hermione were betrothed because they were soul mates and that all of the group had had training in occlumency explained their behaviour, but it was still a shock to Fleur because as a veela she could tell that Harry was barely thirteen and Hermione had only just turned fourteen. The twins were nearly sixteen, Padma, Neville and Susan were thirteen and Luna and Ginny were barely twelve, who were they to be learning such advanced magic at their age?

They were chatting comfortably over dinner after that, and the veela girl seemed to be having a the best time she'd had in ages, when Angela caught Harry's attention and nodded to the High Table, where he saw that Barty Crouch, Percy's father, and a shabby looking man who had the air of another Ministry hack had taken the last two seats beside Madame Maxime and Professor Karkaroff. Harry looked back at Angela and she nodded to say that they were as expected, so he decided to wait and see what came out.

When everyone was finished with desserts and the tables had been cleared, Dumbledore stood again and called for attention "The moment has come, the Triwizard Tournament is about to start! I would like to explain the rules before we bring out the Goblet of Fire, to clarify the changes this year, and because I doubt that anyone here was around the last time that the tournament was held..." He paused to allow the small amount of polite laughter his feeble gibe generated to be heard.

"But first, I would like to introduce those who will be running the tournament. Our own Mister Bartemius Crouch, the head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, and Mister Ludo Bagman, the head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, who have worked tirelessly for much of this year to have this legendary event reinstated. Madame Maxime, the Headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic in France, Professor Karkaroff, the Headmaster of Durmstrang Institute for Magical Learning in Bulgaria, and myself, as the Headmaster of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry here in Britain." He paused for a dramatic moment.

"Madame Maxime and Professor Karkaroff will be joining Mister Crouch, Mister Bagman and myself on the judges' panel for the tournament tasks. The three tasks that the champions will face this year have been set by Mister Crouch and Mister Bagman, the tasks will be spaced out through the school year and will test the champions' magical prowess, daring, powers of deduction and ability to cope with the dangers of the challenge. As you know, three champions will be competing in the tournament, one from each of the participating schools. Their scores from the three tasks will be added together and the one with the highest score after task three will win the Triwizard Cup. The selection of the champions will be done by the Goblet of Fire…. Mister Filch, if you will?"

Filch shuffled forward to place a jewel encrusted chest on the table, he was dressed in what were undoubtedly his best robes, but he looked like a scarecrow in the shabby, threadbare outfit he was wearing. Dumbledore tapped his wand on the lid of the chest in what was obviously a predetermined pattern, and when the chest opened, took a large cup from the chest and held it up for all to see. The cup's construction was rather plain, a glass bowl cradled by a wooden frame and stem, but what made it spectacular were the dancing blue-white flames that filled the bowl, and obviously gave it its name. Dumbledore solemnly paced to a pedestal that was in place to one side of the High Table and set the Goblet of Fire atop it before he continued.

"Anyone wishing to submit themselves as a champion must write their name and school clearly on a piece of parchment and seal it with their blood, then drop it into the Goblet of Fire. The Goblet of Fire will sit here for twenty four hours to allow all interested to submit themselves for consideration. Tomorrow night, after the Halloween Feast, the Goblet of Fire will issue the names of the three champions who have been deemed worthy of representing their schools. As I have advised the Hogwarts students, I have placed protections around the Goblet to prevent anyone under seventeen from submitting their names, as the tournament this year is strictly restricted to those aged seventeen and above."

He allowed his gaze to sweep across the students in the hall. "Finally, I must impress upon any of you wishing to compete that this tournament is not something to be entered into lightly. Once a champion is selected by the Goblet of Fire, they must see the tournament through to the end. Putting your name into the Goblet of Fire is the act that enters you into a binding magical contract if you are subsequently selected as a champion. Please think carefully and consider this before you drop your name into the Goblet, this is no lark, it is a deadly serious matter. With that, I believe that it is time for bed. Good night to you all."

* * *

They said good night to Fleur and headed back to Potter Tower. They spent a while talking in their common room because the twins, and Neville surprisingly enough, expressed interest in entering the tournament to prove something to themselves. Harry and Remus let Angela and the girls tear their arguments to shreds and convince them of what a spectacularly stupid idea it would be to enter a tournament that had been cancelled because too many contestants were maimed and killed every year that it had been run, even if they could get past whatever controls Dumbledore had set in place. Only when they were certain that the boys had gotten it through their heads how truly stupid it would be to pursue the idea did they go to bed.

Sadly, it was clear that the rest of the Hogwarts students had no-one to talk them out of their stupid ideas, because the next day every time one of the older students put their name in the Goblet, the rest of the students exploded in a frenzy of cheering and hero worship. This prompted more than a few of the more impressionable younger students to believe that they _deserved_ their chance at the purse and the 'eternal glory' that Dumbledore was trying to sell, so there were a number of students sent to Madam Pomfrey throughout the day when the measures set up by Dumbledore to reject under age students did so violently.

Professor McGonagall, Flitwick and Sprout complained to Dumbledore about this, insisting that it would be better to lock the Goblet of Fire away and only allow students who were of age access to put their names in. While Madam Maxime agreed with the heads of house on this, Dumbledore insisted that the Goblet couldn't be moved until it had issued the names of the Champions, and he refused to allow a guard to be set on the Goblet, saying that that would be taken as an insult to the noble families of the students and cause problems.

* * *

Madam Pomfrey managed to heal the damaged pride and other parts of the rejected students well enough for all of them, and her, to attend the Halloween Feast. Because it was an official feast, the members of the Potter Group all had to go to their own house tables, but Susan made sure that she was well away from Hannah and the Durmstrang students, and she, Padma and Luna were moving to the Gryffindor table with the rest of them as soon as possible. It was obvious from the look that Fleur gave them that she'd like to be sitting with her new friends too, but she'd been required by Madame Maxime to sit with the rest of the Beauxbatons delegation.

The group smiled to themselves as they waited to see the rest of Hogwarts' staff and students reactions to Hagrid when he arrived, because his interactions with Madame Maxime since she arrived had given them the excuse they needed to start altering his appearance. They couldn't get away with any major wardrobe changes yet, so they had to put his outfit together from what he had, but the girls had made careful selections from his wardrobe to make a notable improvement, and they supervised the trimming of his hair, beard and nails to really smarten up his appearance. Trying to impress Olympe could also be used to explain a change in his vocabulary, using the excuse that he was trying to sound more intelligent and educated. The changes definitely aroused Dumbledore's suspicions, along with Professors McGonagall, Flitwick and Sprout's, but it was only Dumbledore who wasn't happy about them.

As the feast drew to a close and the plates and dishes were cleared away, the excitement grew in the hall, and it was a relief when Dumbledore finally gave up dragging out the suspense and stood to address the hall. Madame Maxime and Professor Karkaroff were looking as nervous as their students and Bagman was hamming it up, smiling and winking at the students, but Crouch looked bored, and made a point of ignoring Percy as he tried to catch his eye to get his attention and approval. When he was sure he had everyone's attention, Dumbledore spoke. "The Goblet is about to start issuing its choices for the champions. When the champions names are called, I ask that they come to the High Table, pay their respects to the judges, and then proceed through the door behind me into the chamber where they will receive their first instructions for the tournament."

"Please join me in applauding all who have had the courage to enter their names to participate in the tournament, because even though only three will be selected as their schools' champions, all who came forward are unquestionably valiant!"

There was a smattering of polite applause and then the flames in the goblet began to grow as the colour changed to red, and Dumbledore moved quickly to where it was sitting atop the pedestal. Just after he reached it, the flames suddenly flared up and a piece of parchment flew out. Dumbledore caught it and pinched out the glowing embers along the edges, holding it out to read what was written on it as the flames returned to blue-white. "Viktor Krum is the champion for Durmstrang!"

The hall erupted with the cheering, the quidditch fans of Hogwarts and Beauxbatons cheering just as loud as the Durmstrang delegation. Viktor stood and marched to the High Table, stiffly bowing to the triumphantly beaming Karkaroff and the other judges as required before turning and marching past Dumbledore to the door into the chamber. The noise died down in anticipation as the flames turned red again.

Dumbledore caught the parchment that was spat out of the goblet and once again held it arm's length to read it. "Fleur Delacour is the champion for Beauxbatons!" This time the cheering would be best described as 'polite', and it wasn't lost to Fleur or anyone else that the Potter Group were more enthusiastic than her fellow Beauxbatons students, something that got them a grateful smile as she stood and gracefully walked to the High Table, curtsying to a proud Madame Maxime and the other judges before proceeding to the door for the chamber, though she paused to acknowledge Dumbledore with a curtsy as she passed him.

It wasn't a long wait before the goblet's flames changed to red again, and the name that came out this time was "Cedric Diggory is the champion for Hogwarts!" The applause for Cedric was generous, because while the other houses were disappointed that the representatives of their houses weren't named as champion, the Hufflepuff prefect was well liked in Hogwarts. Cedric's parade and bow was happier and far less regimented than Krum's had been, and like Fleur, he paused and bowed to Dumbledore as he passed him on the way to the chamber.

Madame Maxime, Professor Karkaroff, Bagman and Crouch stood and proceeded to the door of the chamber, but as they reached it they froze, because the flames had turned red again. They crowded around when Dumbledore caught the parchment that the goblet spat out, struggling to read this new name. Only the ones at the head of the tables nearby heard Dumbledore say "Harry Potter?" as he read out the name, but it had barely started spreading down the tables before he raised his voice to cry. "Harry Potter? Where is Harry Potter?"

There was no doubt that this was pure theatrics as everyone knew where Harry and his group always sat, so Angela matched his theatrics, turning to the wall behind her and loudly calling out "Reveal Mirror!" to cancel the notice-me-not charm cast over the mirror that had been placed up on the wall where it had a clear view of the Goblet of Fire with a sticking charm and then calling "Accio Mirror!" loud enough for many to hear. When she had the mirror in her hand, Remus touched Harry on the shoulder and the three of them proceeded with Tonks to where Dumbledore was. It was obvious that Dumbledore wanted to prevent the others from entering with Harry, but he was bright enough to read the look in Angela's eye that said that he'd die before they let Harry go in there without them.

There was a wave of muttering going around the hall that seemed mainly focussed on 'Cheat!', and none of them were surprised that the loudest voices they heard were Ron Fudge, Percy Crouch and Draco No-Name, but Harry was regretting dropping Fudge's restrictions from entering the Great Hall. Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout, Babbage and Vector, along with Madam Pomfrey, Hagrid and Moody, had all moved to join the group at the door when Harry's name was called, and Slughorn leapt up to join them when it was obvious that anyone important was included in this. Dumbledore obviously wanted to exclude them as well but Professor McGonagall's expression was just as daunting as Angela's, so they all filed into the chamber and closed the door behind them.

* * *

When Harry walked in, Fleur blurted out " 'arry, what are you doing here?" Crouch responded to that, snarling. "The boy's a damned cheat! He somehow put his name into the goblet to get into the tournament!"

Krum, Karkaroff and Madame Maxime looked outraged at this, but Bagman for some reason looked delighted and Fleur was horrified. "Non! He is just a boy, it is too dangerous!"

Angela ignored Fleur and the others as she responded to Crouch. "I'd be very careful with your accusations Mister Crouch! Lord Potter had nothing to do with his name being entered into the Goblet for this tournament!"

"Be quiet girl! Do not address your betters like that, you shouldn't even be here, Dumbledore, get rid of her and the others that came in with the cheater!…..."

He shut up very quickly when Angela shoved her senior Auror's badge right in his face, and Tonks had her's ready to shove in there the moment that Angela made room, in the sudden silence Angela was heard by everyone in the room. "As the senior Auror present, I am in charge of the investigation into the the criminal actions and intent of whoever it was who entered Lord Potter into this tournament until the Director of the DMLE allocates someone to take over the investigation from me! And Mister Crouch, I'll be happy to address your other comment as the Regent of three Noble and Most Agent Houses the next time you're in front of the Wizengamot, don't cross me old man!"

She turned to Dumbledore and put her hand out. "Headmaster, I'll see that parchment please!" Dumbledore complied reluctantly but wanted to argue about what she'd said. "What do you mean, Senior Auror? You're not an Auror, you're part of Potter's staff!"

She answered him distractedly as she was poring over the parchment. "Yes, but the Director of the DMLE is very concerned about the level of danger that we've been uncovering to the students here and reinstated my and Auror Tonks's active status so that there would be authorised Aurors here to give _some_ protection to the students..."

Dumbledore started shouting. "She has no right to plant spies in my school, I won't allow it..."

At that point, Harry cut him off. "You are obviously still labouring under the delusion that this is _your_ school old man!" He raised his voice. "Distinguished ghosts of Hogwarts, attend me please!"

Over the next few minutes, Sir Nicholas, the Grey Lady, the Fat Friar and the Bloody Baron wafted through the walls. The other house ghosts deferred to the Grey Lady, as the daughter of one of the school's founders. "You called on us my Lord?"

Harry bowed to her. "Thank you my lady, we have a question which I wish to request the direction of Hogwarts on, if you would be so kind."

The Grey Lady graciously nodded for him to continue. "Headmaster Dumbledore is making declarations as to what he will and will not allow in _his_ school, and quite aside from the fact that he has no legal authority to make these decisions, I would like the ruling of Hogwarts herself as to who presently at Hogwarts has the most right to make these claims."

The Grey Lady gave a tinkling laugh, which was closely followed by the other three house ghosts' laughs. "My Lord, you already know this answer, as the only true heir of any of the founders in nearly a thousand years, you are the only one who Hogwarts recognises as having any valid claim over her Lord Gryffindor!"

There was a round of "Here, here!" and "Quite rightly so!" and "Absolutely!" from the other ghosts, and when Dumbledore tried to argue, he suddenly found himself sharing space with the angry Bloody Baron's ghost. The others in the room couldn't hear what the Baron whispered to him, but Dumbledore went white, terrified at the prospect of whatever the Baron was saying, though part of it could well have been the unnatural freezing sensation that is experienced when a ghost pushes itself into your body. Whatever the reason, Dumbledore mumbled an apology and withdrew to a corner of the room as Angela spoke.

"Whoever it was was clever enough to come up with another school to enter him under, has anyone heard of this Groosham Grange?"

They didn't note Moody's surprised expression at that because the Bloody Baron whispered something to the Grey Lady and she responded. "The Baron says that this was an academy of witchcraft that was focussed on dark magic, but it reportedly closed down over a hundred years ago."

Angela nodded to them. "Thank you my lady, thank you Baron." Then she snorted as she glanced at Harry. "So you're supposedly a dark witch now, oh my how you've fallen my Lord!"

She waved the parchment before she handed it to Professor McGonagall. "This is not Lord Potter's handwriting, I can assure you that he hasn't been attending any dark witches' school and I can show that Lord Potter went nowhere near the Goblet of Fire. As we have proof that Lord Potter did not enter himself into this tournament, what can be done to withdraw him from it?"

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "If the blood that was used to seal the entry into the tournament is in fact Mister Potter's, it does not matter who entered him, he is magically bound by the entry and therefore cannot withdraw without losing his magic…."

He was cut off by the shouts of Madame Maxime and Professor Karkaroff at that, because they had never been told about that element of the conditions on their students entering the tournament. Fleur went white when she heard that, because a veela who loses her magic will surely die. Viktor was obviously perturbed as well, he did not have death hanging over his head at the loss of his magic like Fleur did, but he was a global celebrity from being the youngest seeker in the world playing at an international level and he stood to make a fortune from that, but he would lose it all without his magic, so he wasn't a happy young man either.

By then Harry's teachers had all confirmed that it was not his handwriting on the parchment, so they handed it to Madam Pomfrey to determine whether it was in fact his blood. Madam Pomfrey was almost in tears when she confirmed that it was indeed Harry's blood on the parchment that entered him, so he was bound by the terms of the magical contract. The looks that many in the room, living and ghost alike, were shooting at Dumbledore said that he would pay if he was found to be behind this, for the other champions as well as Harry. As Dumbledore knew that he _was_ behind both the magical contract's terms and Harry's entry, this made him a very frightened wizard.

Because they were all glaring at Dumbledore, they once again missed Moody's surprised expression, because this was the second thing which didn't match the entry that he'd had put into the goblet for Potter. He was looking at Dumbledore as well, but his look was more bemused than angry, because he was fairly sure that the old fool had been behind the entry which had had Potter chosen as a champion, but he couldn't for the life of him work out why.

A disgruntled Barty Crouch was forced to sit down with Tonks in front of the mirror that had been stuck up on the wall to record everything that happened around the Goblet of Fire from when Dumbledore set it atop the pedestal to when Angela publicly took the mirror down from the wall to get the proof of who put things into the goblet. They were able to scan through the recording much faster than in real time, because every time a valid entry was accepted by the goblet, the flames turned red and flared up, much like they did when it was spitting out the champions' names, so whenever they saw that they would stop the playback, go back and watch the event carefully. Madame Maxime and Karkaroff were also looking over their shoulders because they weren't at all happy about the way they'd been misled about the tournament and they shared the view that whoever it was who entered Harry was most likely behind the other fiddling of the conditions for the tournament. Tonks was recording the names of every student who's entry was accepted by the goblet as they went.

When they got to the end of the recording without Harry showing up once, Crouch claimed that he must have been using a cloak of invisibility or something, until Tonks pointed out, speaking to him as if he was a slow child, that even if Harry had been under a cloak of invisibility, the flames in the goblet would have still changed if an entry was accepted. The only thing they saw which appeared out of the ordinary was that when Cedric and another Hogwarts student dropped their entries into the goblet, the flames flared up higher than they did when anyone else dropped their entries in, but they couldn't see or think of any reason for that and Cedric said that he'd just dropped his name in like everyone else.

Dumbledore tried to regain control of the situation.

"How this situation arose, we may never know." he said, speaking to everyone gathered in the room. "It seems to me however that we have no choice but to accept it and continue. Both Cedric and Harry have been chosen to compete in the Tournament. Therefore, they must do this. . ."

"Ah, but Dumbly-dorr -"

"My dear Madame Maxime, if you have a viable alternative, I would be delighted to hear it."

Dumbledore waited, but Madame Maxime did not say a word, she merely glared at him. She wasn't the only one either. Angela, Remus and Professor McGonagall looked furious and Karkaroff was outraged, Bagman however, that idiot looked rather excited.

Angela decided to take a shot at something here. "I thought that under the rules for this year's tournament, the students have to be adults to participate?"

Dumbledore looked at her, confused. "Yes, that's right, all champions must be adults."

Angela looked at Crouch. "Do you agree with this Mister Crouch?"

He looked angry. "Yes, to be a champion in this year's Triwizard Tournament you must be an adult! What are you getting at woman?"

Angela's smile made him even angrier. "Oh I just wanted clarification on that, thank you sir."

Bagman had no idea what that was about, so he just ignored it.

"Well, shall we crack on with it then?" he asked, rubbing his hands together and smiling around the room. "We've got to give our champions their instructions now, don't we? Barty, do you want to do the honours old son?"

Crouch seemed to come out of a deep reverie.

"Yes," he said, "the instructions. Yes . . . the first task . . ."

He moved forward into the firelight. Close up, Harry thought he looked quite ill. There were dark shadows beneath his eyes and he had a thin, papery look about his skin.

"The first task is designed to test your daring." he told Harry, Cedric, Fleur, and Viktor, "so we will not be telling you what it is. Courage in the face of the unknown is an very important quality in a wizard. . . very important."

"This first task will take place on November the twenty-fourth, in front of the other students and the panel of judges."

"The champions are not permitted to ask for or accept help of any kind from their school's teachers to complete the tasks in the tournament. Furthermore, the champions will face the first challenge armed only with their wands. They will receive information about the second task once the first task is over. Also, owing to the demanding and time-consuming nature of the tournament, the champions will be exempted from their end-of-year tests."

Crouch turned to look at Dumbledore.

"I think that's all, isn't it Albus?"

"I think so," said Dumbledore, who was looking at him with mild concern. "Are you sure you wouldn't like to stay at Hogwarts tonight, Barty?"

"No Albus, I must get back to the Ministry," Crouch responded. "It is a very busy, very difficult time at the moment..."

"You'll come and have a drink with us before you go, at least?" Dumbledore asked.

"Come on, Barty, I'm staying!" Bagman added brightly. "It's all happening here at Hogwarts now, you know, so much more exciting here than back at the office!"

"I think not, Bagman," snapped Crouch with a touch of his old impatience.

"Professor Karkaroff - Madame Maxime - a nightcap?" said Dumbledore.

But Madame Maxime had already put her arm around Fleur's shoulders and was leading her swiftly out of the room. Fleur paused to squeeze Harry's shoulder reassuringly as they passed and he could hear them both talking in rapid-fire French as they headed off into the Great Hall. Karkaroff beckoned to Krum, and they, too, exited the chamber, though there was no talk with them.

Angela took Harry by the shoulder and directed him to the door with Tonks and Remus. They would have the goblins do a thorough testing of the blood and everything else on the parchment, but they didn't question poppy's findings, Angela had already tested it herself and had confirmed what Poppy had found. She also had to put together the preliminary report for Madam Bones to explain what the hell was happening here. She knew that old bastard Dumbledore was somehow behind this, but she couldn't see any way to get Harry out of it without him losing his magic, and she didn't see believe that Harry would see this as simple as being a choice between his magic and his life as Hermione was bound to.

* * *

The next day, it was as bad as they expected it to be with everyone hissing at Harry that he was a cheat and how they were disgusted with him. Professor McGonagall kept insisting that Dumbledore do something about it, but he just kept saying that his hands were tied and there was nothing that he could do about it. Eventually she gave up on him and stood to announce that it had been proven the previous night that Harry Potter had had nothing to do with his being entered into the tournament, but it had been done in such a way that he couldn't pull out without losing his magic, so he was being forced to risk losing his very life by competing in the tournament in order to save his magic.

She finished by saying that any Hogwarts students who were seen to be attacking or harassing him over this would be seriously punished. Dumbledore tried to say that she couldn't do that, but Professor Flitwick stood on his chair to reinforce Professor McGonagall's position, followed by Professor Sprout and the rest of the professors, with only Moody and Slughorn staying quiet, this was enough to make Dumbledore back down.

The surprise though was when Madame Maxime stood and made the same admonishment to the Beauxbatons delegation. She had been watching Fleur arguing with her fellow Beauxbatons students until she got up and went to sit with Harry and the others, and she realised that the girl and Professor McGonagall were correct, it had been proven that the boy hadn't entered himself and he was risking life and limb in this tournament to save his magic. The boy had already proven that he was a true champion by the way he'd accepted this without complaint, and his manner and aura said that he would be a formidable opponent in this, so she wasn't about to allow her students to attack him either! Karkaroff wasn't doing anything to rein in his students, but she'd heard that woman who was an Auror hiss something at him about being a Death Eater and she remembered hearing stories about this years ago, so that made sense, a Death Eater wasn't likely to tell his students to back off on attacking someone on the other side.

Harry invited Fleur to join them in their tutoring sessions, and with Madame Maxime's permission, she did. It wasn't a hard choice for her, because in their sessions she was free from the men and boys panting after her and the girls attacking her because they were convinced that she was going to take their boyfriends and prospects from them, but she was pleasantly surprised to find that the tutoring sessions were also far superior to the general classes for those subjects.

The group had a good idea what the first task would be when Charlie turned up to see Ginny and the twins, and Harry. Harry could see him struggling with the ethical dilemma of having upholding his word not to say anything about the task fighting with not telling his liege lord of the danger he was about to face, so he resolved the issue by forbidding him to say anything. Hagrid tried to get around this by inviting Harry and Olympe to come and see something with him the next night, but Harry just quietly answered. "Hagrid, it's alright, I know it's dragons." the surprise and relief on Hagrid's face at that was all the confirmation he needed.

Fleur said something similar to Madame Maxime when she was trying to find a way to tell her without breaking her oath not to reveal the secrets of the tournament. Harry quietly told Cedric so he could prepare himself, and it was obvious from the gloating looks from the Durmstrang delegation that they also knew and thought that they had an advantage there, so all the champions knew and they had a level playing field.

The good time that Fleur was having with that group was rudely interrupted when Angela was urgently called to what was meant to be a secret Wizengamot session by Madam Bones, and she came back white, immediately sending Tally to bring Daphne Greengrass from the Slytherin dungeons (amending that to Daphne and her sister Astoria at Luna's suggestion when she _saw_ why Angela was upset), and also sending Dommy to collect Fleur from the Beauxbatons carriage.

Fleur followed the others' lead and let Angela ramble when she appeared to be going off on a tangent about age old British noble house marriage laws, and the subject was sounding more ominous when she noted that they'd established a law centuries ago which let them force a betrothal contract on a girl's family through the Wizengamot without their agreement or even knowledge. She seemed to be coming to the point when she said that that law hadn't been enacted for nearly a hundred years, until today, and Fleur saw Padma tense up.

Padma choked out. "Who?" and Angela had to take a moment to calm herself before she answered. "Daphne, and Fleur."

Susan was confused about the reactions around the room. "Why is this a problem? Daphne and Fleur's father can just cancel the betrothal contacts can't they?"

 _ **A/N: Unpleasantness starts here.**_

It was Padma who answered her. "The problem, Susan, is another part of the marriage laws that I presume were set up to go along with this…." She paused as Angela nodded, tight lipped. "These state that as soon as a girl who is betrothed loses her virginity, she is deemed to be legally married to her betrothed."

Angela took over. "It doesn't matter how, or to who the girl loses her virginity, so the girl is nearly always raped immediately after the forced betrothal goes through, by the betrothed or others in his family. The law states that as soon as the marriage is magically recognised through that, the wife belongs to her husband and his family, so they can do anything they want to her without anyone having any legal recourse..."

She paused and smiled grimly. "I think you're the only girl who's even remotely close to being safe from this Susan, because once we blocked these two forced betrothals today in the Wizengamot, your Aunt stood up and declared to all and sundry that if anyone ever used this against the House of Bones, she swore to totally eradicate the family behind it, she didn't care how _legal_ it was, anyone who did this to her family would be destroyed…."

She looked distraught as she paused again. "That is what worries us, the proposal to force Daphne's betrothal was planned, it was the reason that they attempted to call the session without notifying anyone beyond those required to pass it, the only reason that didn't work was that a clerk asked Amelia what the emergency session was about and she immediately called Augusta and I in because between us we had more than enough votes to stop whatever it was they were trying to slip through. The proposal to force Fleur's betrothal, however, was an crime of opportunity, they had obviously forgotten about the law allowing forced betrothals like we had, but as soon as they were reminded of it they seized the chance to try and lock a veela into marriage, as veelas deserted Britain long ago. That is what really frightens us, between Harry, Amelia, Augusta and myself we have upset the plans of the traditional purebloods time and again over the past few years, they're angry about that and this is a perfect way for them to get back at us, forcing betrothals for you girls and then raping you in terrible ways to punish us..."

"These laws were originally created to allow the powerful pureblood families to continue their bloodlines, if the heirs to the line were not inclined to procreate, they'd arrange or force a betrothal for them and then have family members rape the girl until she was pregnant. While the forced betrothals haven't been used in nearly a hundred years, this aspect of the law has been used more recently, two that I know of were from the Black family, Bellatrix and Narcissa Black's father was quite happy to take the bride price from the Lestrange and Malfoy families. While Narcissa was only fifteen at the time, she became pregnant quite quickly and survived with her mind intact. Bellatrix though did not become pregnant, and by the time the Lestrange family gave up throwing men at her, she was quite insane. It is believed that the only reason that she hasn't killed her husband and his brother are that they were among the very few men in their family who never had her."

There was a horrified silence then, and Tonks was overcome with guilt for the way she'd hated her aunt without knowing what had made her that way. The silence was suddenly broken by Padma shouting. "Wait!" When they all looked at her, she continued.

"There is another side of this! One of the things that my parents were adamant about when they were trying to make me trap Harry into a marriage was that I _had_ to get him to establish the betrothal contract before I used that to lock him into the marriage, because a girl can't get betrothed if she isn't a virgin."

Angela nodded, thinking. "Yes, the traditional purebloods are fanatical about their bloodlines, so they made sure that they couldn't be tricked into taking in a girl who might be carrying the child of another bloodline by making virginity a condition of the magical betrothals. A marriage can still be brokered between the families for a girl who isn't a virgin if they agree. But….?"

Padma took her idea up again. "If we aren't virgins, we can't be forced into these betrothal contracts and then raped into marriage. I'm sure that Papa would prefer for Luna and I to do this by our own choice now, rather than have that forced on us that way."

Angela and everyone else stared at her, stunned at the idea, but the girls soon started nodding, this would be far preferable to the alternative. Angela asked. "But who…?" and kicked herself when Padma, Luna and Ginny immediately looked at Harry, of course, she'd known that they pined for him almost as much as Hermione did, and so did Susan for that matter, she could see her looking at him too.

With everyone looking at him, Harry began to cry. "I'm sorry, but I can't, Hermione..." Hermione stopped him with a kiss and then spoke to him as if the rest of them didn't exist. "Shush, this isn't being unfaithful, or a betrayal of me, this is us saving the ones we love from something terrible. I can accept it on that basis, but I do have some conditions, first and most important, our first time will be with each other. From what we just learned, I will become Lady Potter when we do that, which means that we have to explain why I'm losing my virginity and getting married just after I've turned fourteen to my parents and try to get them to accept it first. I'm hoping that they will be reasonable, but if we can't convince them we will go ahead anyway, I do want us to try first though. And I insist on being there when you're with the other girls. Can you accept these conditions?"

Harry nodded with tears in his eyes. "Yes of course, but..."

Hermione cut him off with a kiss again. "I can't say that I like this, but neither of us can let that happen to them, and I'm OK with it under these terms, are you?"

Harry nodded again, more confident this time. When they turned to the others, nearly everyone in the room had tears in their eyes, even some of the goblins. Hermione caught Daphne's eye. "You and Fleur are included in this if you wish Daphne, we won't turn our backs on you when you're threatened with this..."

That prompted more tears from both of them, and Daphne tried to explain. "The only thing that my father would have been angry about in this was that he was being cheated out of the bride price, and even if he loses the ability to sell me off, he will quite happily sell Astoria off to the highest bidder..." Her sister piped up at that. "Could I be included in this as well?"

Hermione faltered at that. "Surely you're safe from this? You're only eleven!"

Astoria shook her head. "No, I'm twelve, I'm only a few months younger than Ginny Weasley, and my father could have signed a betrothal contract for me when I was a baby if he wished, he's only held off to wait for us to attract more interest so that we'll draw a higher bride price."

Despite the seriousness of the moment, Daphne smiled down at Astoria and hugged her as she said. "That's my little sister, the genius."

Hermione was horrified by this idea, but nodded. "I'm sorry, I didn't realise, in that case yes, of course."

Fleur had another issue, and she was so emotional that she was speaking as much in French as English. Hermione was therefore the only one who really got what she was saying. Fleur explained how Veela bonded to the first one they were with, which meant that she'd bond to Harry if she was with him, she also pointed out that contraceptives did not work with veela in her bonding, so there was a chance that she could get pregnant from this. She rambled a little as she explained that this was a major risk to Veela, in that they could not act against the interests of the one they were bonded to, and therefore they could be trapped into marriages and kept to be used as playthings by those who wanted to possess them, like the one who had tried to force the betrothal on her. Hermione kept her talking for a while to help her calm down and Fleur revealed that she did not have to be married to the one who she bonded with, but she would always have a strong connection to them. She was a little surprised with the question, but agreed when Hermione asked if that meant that if she found a good man who understood the situation, whether she could have a happy life with them. When she'd calmed down, Hermione looked her in the eye and said that she was comfortable with that, and asked Fleur whether she was. Fleur looked both confused and relieved as she smiled and said. "Oui."

Harry looked a question at Hermione, but she just kissed him and told him that she'd explain later. With that they settled down to discuss what they had to do, with Hermione's blessing and Padma and Fleur saying that they could teach Harry what they were shown to make it better and easier for him as well as the girls, all the girls agreed that they wanted to do this, even Susan.

A glance at Neville had her reach out to squeeze his hand but shake her head. "No, I do care about Neville and one day, perhaps, we may marry, but neither of us are ready to take this step with each other now." Neville didn't look upset as he nodded at that. "I know that my aunt has threatened to eradicate anyone who tries to do that to me, but I'm just as afraid as the other girls because many of the pureblood families are arrogant enough to decide that she can't touch them, even if she can that wouldn't stop what happened to me."

With that, they had Dommy, Tally and Dobby bring in Hermione's parents, Xeno, Arthur, Amelia and Fleur's parents to explain what was going on. As expected, Hermione's parents were the hardest sell, but they'd had twelve months to get used to the idea that their daughter was betrothed to the boy who she would marry when the time was right, and they couldn't argue against what they were trying to do here. They were both horrified of why they were doing it and proud that her daughter and soon to be son in law would do this.

Fleur's parents were enraged about what had been attempted with their daughter and wanted to eradicate the family involved, but accepted that even if they did, and that had not been ruled out yet, because of the fact that she'd been trapped into the tournament by the threat of losing her magic which would probably kill her, she was also trapped in Britain for this school year and so this was the only viable solution for her. Her mother was actually quite happy with the options that Hermione had posed as she could see that Harry had too much integrity to ever abuse the bond that Fleur would have with him, so if she could find a good man to marry, her daughter could have a happy life with strong ties to powerful and good people.

Arthur wasn't happy about the fact that Ginny would have to do this at twelve to be protected against this foul example of pureblood politics, but she'd only been eleven when her mother was trying to poison her and Harry with potions to get her pregnant to him in order to force him to marry her, so this scenario was far better than that. This was also her choice and he knew that Harry would be gentle and caring with her. The fact that Fleur's mother assured them that the contraceptive charms that she knew would protect all but Fleur from the chance of getting pregnant in this was also a comfort.

Amelia accepted Susan's point that even if she could to eradicate any family who put her niece through the forced marriage ritual, that wouldn't save her from the experience, so she would be better protected through doing this, and Susan was sure that this was what she wanted.

Xeno was the least worried of any of the parents, as Luna was wise beyond her years and her adopted sister was just as bright. Contrary to popular opinion, he wasn't totally out of touch with the real world and he recognised the very real danger of what they were talking about, so if his daughters were comfortable with what they were proposing, he was quite happy to agree to something which could spare them such a terrible experience.

Once they had everyone's agreement, Fleur's mother cast the contraceptive charms over both Hermione and Harry and coached them through the best way to make the experience as painless, enjoyable and fulfilling as possible. They were surprised when their betrothal rings loosened in the middle of things, as they hadn't considered that. As a result of that they did take a short break to go to Gringotts to return the betrothal rings, and when Harry set the ring for the first lady of the House of Potter on Hermione's finger and it shrank to fit in its acceptance of her, that was a happy moment for them as Hermione had officially become Lady Potter.

Fleur's mother stayed to cast the contraceptive charms and coach Harry and the other girls through their first experiences, and Hermione stayed as well. Harry and Hermione were surprised, to say the least, when Fleur transformed at the moment of bonding, but she immediately changed back to her human form afterwards.

* * *

Afterwards, it took a little time for them to be comfortable with each other after what they'd done, but they were undeniably closer, and another step was taken before Daphne and Astoria went back to Slytherin, they both swore homage and fealty to Harry as Lord Potter, to become vassals of House Potter and gain its protection.

This was done because Daphne knew with absolute certainty that his daughters were nothing but chattels to Marcus Greengrass, so when he discovered that he was stopped from entering them into betrothal contracts because of the measures that they were taken, he was likely to try and sell them off in marriage for as good a bride price as he could get, but being vassals of House Potter, Harry could prevent this. Also, once word got around that they could not be entered into betrothal contracts because if that, they would be considered fair game by those who wanted to prey on girls, and if they were vassals of house Potter, they could move them into the Potter Group and Potter Tower without parental consent if required.

With her parents' agreement, Fleur also became a vassal of House Potter, so that she could be protected while she was trapped in England for the Tournament, and when she was in Britain after the Tournament concluded.

Once that step was done, Daphne and Astoria's father was summoned to Madam Bones' office to be told of what had happened and what was required of him, Angela and Augusta were there to provide extra pressure. They opened the discussions with Amelia advising him of the attempt to use an emergency Wizengamot session that few were advised about to force the betrothals of his daughter and another girl. As Daphne had told them, the only thing her father was concerned about was the fact that he would have lost the bride price that he was trying to negotiate for her betrothal, which made it easier to address the other issues with him.

He was told that both of his daughters had been protected against being forced into betrothal contracts by way of losing their virginity, they let him rage about bringing the ones who did this up on charges and taking everything they owned in reparation for devaluing his most valuable possessions, at which point they told them that the girls had also become vassals of House Potter and therefore House Potter had control of their fates and he could now enter into no arrangements in regard to his daughters without Lord Potter's approval. They let him rant for a while longer before Madam Bones cut across him and asked how he'd gotten to be the head of a family without knowing anything about noble house politics, showing him the documents that made it quite clear that a powerful Noble and Most Ancient House like House Potter could pretty much do whatever they wanted, and what they'd done was perfectly within the rules.

After letting him stew over this for a while, they threw the papers to have the girls changed to studying with the private tutors of the Potter Group at him and told him to sign, pointing out that this way, he could pretend that this was a shrewd move on his part, aligning his daughters to the powerful House Potter, because it would happen whether he agreed to this or not. He had murder in his eye as he signed approval for Daphne and Astoria to change over to the Potter Group.

Once he did, Angela threw him a bone that they'd worked out with Fleur's family and Harry, Hermione and Daphne had agreed to. "If you do not cause any trouble for your daughters, there is an option on the table that Lord Potter and your eldest daughter are prepared to consider, that of them adopting the temporary union option that exists for the purpose of maintaining the lines of houses and families without male heirs. This means that Daphne would retain the name Greengrass, and any children of this marriage will continue the Greengrass line. This is most likely the only option for you to maintain the Greengrass line. Needless to say, House Potter and the houses aligned to it will be watching you closely Greengrass, and if you do anything at all to raise the ire of your daughters or House Potter, this option will be withdrawn."

Because his family line had effectively ended with nothing but daughters and his own daughters would not have anything to do with him otherwise, Greengrass agreed to this. He was quickly learning what many others had already learned in the last two years, crossing House Potter and the powerful houses who were associated with it was akin to walking into a dragon's den and prodding it in the arse, it was pretty much a painful way of ensuring your own destruction.


	14. Dragons and Other Weird Folk

**There are a few minor corrections to things I missed when I rushed out the last chapter, like getting official confirmation that Triwizard champions must be adults.**

 **Wow, I only lost one follow and one favourite from the last chapter, that was a nice surprise. I realise that towards the end it wasn't what many are looking for (or pleasant), but IMHO it was required set the scene for the type of world I see this as. A medieval society where _those_ pureblood families see anything they want as being their divine right by birth, which uses the elves as slaves and sees any other _creatures_ as their inferiors to do with as they will. It won't get that raw often.**

 **With regard to the questions asked by a guest, I can't find anything for that name, it would be far easier if you signed on to review and it was a little hard to decipher the questions but anyway;**

 **In my mind, Daphne was being forced into a betrothal with Theo Nott, while Fleur was being forced into a betrothal with some other sicko who was fantasising about having his own little veela toy.**

 **The girls were choosing to lose their virginities with Harry so that they couldn't be forced to have sex with other perverts to complete a forced marriage, because only virgins can be betrothed in this world.**

 **In my world, being vassals of a powerful house can override parental permission, that was why Daphne and Astoria swore the oaths to Harry to get out from under their father's control.**

 **Unless you're talking about the tournament, in which case parental permission doesn't come into it at all. In the original story they talked about a magical contract, but just writing someone's name down couldn't do that IMHO, adding their blood, however, could lock it in to them.**

* * *

 **Perhaps I should clarify the world I'm using for this story, OK, in order of emergence;**

 **Magical Noble houses, in this world House Potter, Black, Gryffindor and the other founders are part of the top rung of Magical Britain's Noble Houses, Noble and Most Ancient. I've envisaged Potter and maybe Black as Marquess and Gryffindor as Earl. House Longbottom, Bones and their peers are on the next rung down, Ancient and Noble, they would be Earl (or Countess for Bones) or Viscount, but the families aren't as established or have as much power as the top rung. After that would be Noble House (Viscount or Baron, less powerful), Minor House (Baronet or Laird), Family (Gentry) and then foreign houses with no formal place within the British Noble House structure. Wizengamot votes are based on the holdings and titles in Britain that the house holds, so a Noble and Most Ancient House will control votes for each of the holdings attached to each of the titles that the head of the house is holds. (NB: The titles of the Magical Noble Houses are all below Duke as Dukes are generally part of the British Royal Family. Also, I realise that I've apparently elevated the Potter family from the original books, but back stories from JKR made references to them being up around the top of magical society for centuries and they left a fortune for Harry, so I took license from that.)**

 **Vassals in this society are largely modelled on medieval society and are basically owned by their Lords, but the Lords have responsibilities to protect them as they would family. The bonds are magical and recognised by the magical instruments if anyone cares to check, and they can be revoked upon agreement from both the Lord and Vassal.**

 **Marriage laws, here I've taken the old ways to the extreme,** **apologies ladies, but for the purpose of the storyline, this is a man's world** **. For a start, the wife is the property of the husband and his family and they can do whatever they want to** **her** **. The head of the wife's original family** **does have** **the right to call for the dissolution of the marriage and/** **or** **cast her out the family if he decides that she has called the family name into disrepute.** **A Lord is entitled to a wife for each family line and title that he has claim to, most of the Ancient Houses will have a number of inferior lines included under the primary title. A woman can only have one husband, the only exception is the temporary union mentioned later to propagate female lines, but that is before she enters into a marriage.** **In this world, the** **purebloods** **are fanatical about** **their** **bloodlines, so only virgins can be betrothed,** **their virginity is magically registered and is also used to change her status to married if it is lost while she is betrothed.**

 **Due to excessive inbreeding, some** **old** **families were having trouble continuing their bloodlines** **and the powerful** **pureblood** **families established a law centuries ago which allowed families with enough power in the Wizengamot to force the betrothal of girls** **from less powerful families** **to their heirs without the girls' families' agreement.** **A** **s soon as she was betrothed** **under these terms** **,** **t** **he girl was usually forcibly deflowered to make her married and therefore the property of her husband's family,** **which** **then** **left them free to ensure an heir was begat by whatever means they chose** **. Another law was enacted to allow a separate type of union to be legally established for the time it took for** **heirs** **to be begat to continue bloodlines and famil** **y name** **s of the female line where there was no male heir. This is being used to continue the** **Delacour** **and possibly Greengrass family names, if Dap** **h** **ne and Astoria's father behaves.**

 **On 'binding magical contracts', OK, this is all in la la land and shouldn't be taken seriously, but IMHO logic should still apply, and therefore calling something a 'binding magical contract' without anything to bind one party to the agreement doesn't make sense. That was why I added the element of sealing the TWT entries with the person's blood to give the magical contract something to bind them to it. I've also used signing in blood to seal other magical contracts through the story.**

 **Veela, in my mind the idea of 'half veela' or 'quarter veela' doesn't make sense, if they all have the form of human women most of the time, to me veela need humans to breed, so they are born of the union between a man and a veela. I realise the bond, dying if they lose their magic and the like are** **all** **fanfiction creations but I like them** **so I use them. Also the transformation when she gets pregnant as she bonds, well it's a rare and significant moment for veela so I expect that it would invoke a notable reaction in her. I'm also adding another aspect for convenience, in th** **is world** **veela can choose when to allow** **a** **pregnancy to progress.**

 **Hopefully that clarifies the world of this story a little, and yes, I do know that I over think these things. ;^)**

* * *

 **Usual disclaimers, no rights to any characters portrayed and this is neither the real world nor a Disney Princess tale.**

Harry was upset after the business with Daphne and Fleur. He made sure that Daphne and Astoria were made to feel welcome when they moved into Potter Tower, but he was restless, so Hermione suggested that they go and have a look at the dragons in their animagi forms. The idea of getting out for a while appealed, so he agreed and they took off with Remus. They chatted about the recent changes as they strolled far enough away from the castle to transform without being seen.

The most obvious of those changes had had Professor McGonagall rushing to Potter Tower to ask why Hermione's name had just changed from Granger to Potter. She had been in tears when she heard what had prompted them to seal their union a few years ahead of when they'd planned to do so, and it was the most emotional that they'd ever seen the dour professor as she was embracing all the girls. Afterwards, Professor McGonagall had quietly let Professors Flitwick and Sprout and the rest of Hermione's teachers in on the news so that they wouldn't make a big thing of it and spill the beans to Dumbledore or the others that they didn't trust before Dumbledore found out for himself. They all agreed that it didn't really change anything, Hermione was still the same student, she and Harry had just moved up their inevitable marriage in their schedule.

When they were far enough into the Forbidden Forest, they left Remus where they transformed and quietly ran forward in their animagi forms to a vantage point where they could observe the dragons. When they saw them, Harry as Lobo gave out a whining huff. The Welsh Green, the red Chinese Fireball and the blue-gray Swedish Short-Snout weren't too bad, but the much bigger black Hungarian Horntail looked nasty, and Harry knew which one he'd draw with his luck. To make things even more interesting, they were all nesting mothers, which would of course make them all a lot more aggressive. Once they'd seen what Harry would be facing, the pair of them slunk back out of sight before running back to where Remus was waiting.

When they'd transformed back and Remus asked why Harry was looking worried, Harry just said "Nesting Hungarian Horntail!" Remus went white at that but Hermione tried to point out that it was by no means definite that he'd draw her until Harry just looked at her. Eventually she nodded with a wry smile. "OK yes, it's most _likely_ that you will draw her but it's _not_ definite!" Harry conceded that with a laugh, and he pulled her in for a kiss before they headed back to the castle hand in hand.

* * *

They also had a horrible foreboding that Hagrid might have actually been requested to breed those Blast-Ended Skrewts. It was quite conceivable that the challenge in creating a bizarre and dangerous creature which shot flames out one and had a giant scorpion's sting at the other like that would have appealed to Hagrid, given that his pets had included Aragog, the Acromantula, Fluffy, the enormous three headed dog, and Norberta, the Norwegian Ridgeback dragon that Hagrid had hatched and wanted to keep until they managed to convince him that he (they'd thought she was male at the time) was better off among his own kind, not to mention Buckbeak, the hippogriff and his herd.

No, what was worrying them was that while Hagrid was involving the students in the raising of the Blast-Ended Skrewts, he was being very organised and serious about it and he wasn't telling the students much about them, and for him _that_ was suspicious! With Hagrid's uncommon seriousness and the fact that the big event this year was the Triwizard Tournament, Harry had the terrible foreboding that he'd be facing these in one of the tasks when they were fully grown and that wasn't an idea that gave him any comfort, so he was quietly studying them and suggested to Fleur that she do the same. He intended to find some way of letting the other champions know as well, but he thought that that could wait until after the first task.

Harry's forebodings increased when his class turned up for their Care of Magical Creatures lesson to find the crated up skrewts scattered around Hagrid's cottage and Hagrid explained. "We think they were being aggressive to each other because of all the pent up energy from being in crates, so your class for the day will be fixing leashes on them and taking them for a walk." The skrewts were now over three feet long, and extremely powerful. No longer shell-less and colourless, they had developed a kind of thick, grayish, shiny armour. They looked like a cross between giant scorpions and elongated crabs, but still without recognisable heads or eyes. They had become extremely strong and very hard to control. The question of how you put a leash on something that doesn't have a head was answered with tying it around the middle and wearing dragon gloves to avoid injuries, which promptly reduced the students' interest in participating, but Hagrid was being unusually firm on this and told them just to do it. Luckily, the skrewts were taken for their walks and put away again without any of the students being seriously injured.

* * *

It was only a week until the first task, and while the idiots at the Ministry had decided that the champions wouldn't be doing exams this year, Harry had his OWLs and Fleur had her NEWTs this year, so they were not backing off on their studies. The person in the group who had the heaviest workload though was Astoria. As Daphne had half jokingly said, Astoria was exceedingly bright, and while a little frail, she was also exceedingly determined. When she and Daphne came under the umbrella of the Potter group and they were advised about how all the group were all doing two school years in one, Astoria asked whether, if she was willing to put the extra work in, could she get the help she needed to catch up to Ginny, Luna and Daphne?

Even Daphne hadn't seen her sister this determined before, and she'd been surprised when Harry and Angela's answer to Astoria was that if she was truly prepared to push herself that hard, she'd have whatever help she needed. They all pitched in to help with the many late night sessions, and Astoria certainly proved to them all that she was up to the task, by the time the Christmas break came she'd advanced to the Second Year classes and even Third Year for some. Staying at the Manor and working right through the break, by the time Easter came she was well into all of the third year classes, and while she was still working hard to catch up, she wasn't _that_ far behind the others. She was still working hard at the end of the school year but she passed her Fourth Year exams with 'O's and 'E's so that she would be going into Fifth Year with the others. Astoria Greengrass had certainly earned her place in the group.

* * *

When the day of the first task came, Harry and Fleur were nervous, they'd both prepared a plan to go at the task but there were a lot of variables, like who was going to get that bloody Horntail (though Harry had no doubt who that would be). Fleur also had another worry because she'd become pregnant from their bonding. The pregnancy had been put on hold until she chose to release it (an ability that the human girls wished they had), but there was a life inside of her from what would be one of the most significant moments in her life, and she was frightened about putting that at risk.

Professor McGonagall came to them at breakfast and told Harry that she would be escorting him to the weighing of the wands in preparation for the first task after breakfast. She also advised Fleur that Madame Maxime would be doing the same for her. Fleur looked in Dumbledore's direction and Professor McGonagall frowned. "The Headmaster will be escorting Mister Diggory, and Lord Potter does not enjoy his company so I have volunteered to serve as Lord Potter's escort, as I am his head of house here at Hogwarts." Fleur nodded at that, seeing that Harry was happy with the situation.

Fleur kissed Harry on the cheek and headed for Madame Maxime, while Harry looked at Angela and Remus. After a brief discussion, Remus stayed with Rackclaw and the goblin guards to look after the others while Angela and Tonks went with Harry and Professor McGonagall. After Fleur's kiss for luck, people paid less attention to the goodbye kiss that Harry gave Hermione.

They ended up in a smallish classroom, with most of the desks pushed away to the back of the room to leave the middle empty. Three desks had been placed end-to-end up the front of the room and covered with velvet. Ludo Bagman was sitting in one of the chairs behind this impromptu table, talking to some witch in magenta robes who Harry had never seen before.

Krum was standing moodily in a corner by himself while Cedric and Fleur were talking on the other side of the room. A slovenly man with a large black camera was watching Fleur out of the corner of his eye, trying not to be too obvious even though he was.

When Bagman spotted Harry, he bounded up out of his seat. "Ah, here he is! Our champion number four! In you come, Harry, in you come.. . nothing to worry about, it's just the wand weighing ceremony, the rest of the judges will be back in a moment…."

"Wand weighing?" Harry wanted someone to explain what the hell they were doing here, because Dumbledore wasn't telling him a thing.

"We have to check that your wands are fully functional, no problems, you know, as they're your most important tools in the tasks ahead," answered Bagman. "The expert's upstairs now with Dumbledore. And then there will be a little photo shoot. This is Rita Skeeter," he added, gesturing to the witch in magenta robes. "She's doing a small piece on the tournament for the Daily Prophet. .. ."

"Maybe not that small, Ludo," said Rita Skeeter, her eyes on Harry.

Her hair was set in elaborate and stiff curls that contrasted oddly with her heavy-jowled face. She wore bedazzled spectacles and the thick fingers clutching her crocodile-skin handbag ended in two-inch long crimson nails.

"I wonder if I could have a little word with Harry before we start?" she asked Bagman with her gaze fixed on Harry. "The youngest champion, you know. . . to add a bit of colour?"

"Certainly!" cried Bagman. "That is…. if Harry has no objection?"

"Actually…. I do. My friend Luna's father is the editor of the Quibbler and I expect them to have equal time for anything to do with me. I haven't had good experiences with the Prophet in the past." Harry responded.

Skeeter was affronted that Harry didn't just do as he was expected to and glared at Bagman, waiting for him to order Harry to do the interview with her, but Bagman looked nervously at Angela. He was no genius but he knew who held the power in the room, and he wasn't about to cross her or the young Lord after what happened at the selection of the champions.

Harry kept his expression locked down as he turned and called "Regent, do you have a moment please?"

Skeeter was looking from the boy, to the woman, to Bagman, mouthing. 'Regent?' and expecting _someone_ to tell her what the hell was going on but Harry and Angela were acting as if she wasn't there and Bagman was watching them anxiously.

"Regent, the Prophet wants to interview me but I'll only talk to them if the Quibbler gets equal time, could we get someone to get Luna and Colin up here please?"

Bagman piped up then. "I'm sorry Mister Potter, but there won't be time for that, as soon as Dumbledore gets here with Ollivander, we'll be having the weighing of the wands and then we'll be heading out to where the first task is being held…."

Harry frowned at that. "Well I'm afraid in that case I won't be able to give you an interview Miss Skeeter…."

Angela piped up then. "Perhaps you could Harry, if we recorded the interview and Miss Skeeter agreed for the Quibbler to use the recording for their article?"

Skeeter was outraged. "Absolutely not! If that rag prints one word of my interview I'll destroy them!"

Harry shrugged. "In that case Miss Skeeter, there will be no interview….. And that means that the Daily Prophet will _not_ be publishing anything about me outside of listing my name as competing in the Triwizard Tournament… To put it in your words Miss Skeeter, if you publish one word about me that is not authorised by me or my Regent, I will destroy the Prophet and you in particular, do you understand me Miss Skeeter?"

Skeeter was dumbstruck, no-one had ever spoken to her like that before, not even the Minister!

When it was obvious that she wasn't going to answer, Angela interjected. "The correct answer here Miss Skeeter is 'Yes Lord Potter, I will not publish a single word about you in the Daily Prophet or Witch Weekly that isn't authorised by you!' We're waiting to hear those words from you Miss Skeeter!"

She found her voice then. "You can't tell me what I can and can't publish, who the hell are you?"

Angela shoved her senior Auror's badge in her face, much as she had to Dumbledore at Halloween. "Senior Auror Angela Fawley, and also Regent of the Ancient and Most Noble Houses of Potter, Gryffindor and Black. This young man is the Head of the Ancient and Most Noble Houses of Potter and Gryffindor and Heir to the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, as well as being the head of a number of other lesser houses as well. You have been informed of what will happen to you if you print anything about Lord Potter and we have a record of that, so we have nothing more to say to you. Publish at your own risk Miss Skeeter!"

Skeeter opened and closed her mouth a few times and then quickly crossed the room to corner the other champions, getting snubbed by Fleur as well, but Cedric and Krum talked to her. Soon after that, Dumbledore walked into the room with Mister Ollivander, Barty Crouch, Madame Maxime and Professor Karkaroff. The five judges took their seats at the velvet covered table and they started the weighing of the wands.

Mister Ollivander asked. "Mademoiselle Delacour, could we have you first, please?" stepping into the open area in the middle of the room.

Fleur swept over to Mr. Ollivander and handed him her wand.

"Hmm..." he said.

He twirled the wand between his fingers like a baton and it emitted a number of pink and gold sparks. Then he held it chose to his eyes and examined it carefully.

"Yes, yes." he said quietly, "Nine and a half inches. . . inflexible.. rosewood.. . and containing. . . dear me. . ."

"Ze 'air from ze 'ead of a veela," said Fleur. "One of my grandmuzzer's."

"Ah yes." Ollivander nodded. "Yes, I've never used veela hair myself, of course. I've heard that it makes for rather temperamental wands...but that's only hearsay, as we haven't been graced with your fair kin for some time here..."

He ran his fingers along the wand, apparently checking for scratches or bumps, then he muttered. "Orchideous!" and a bunch of flowers burst from the wand tip.

"Very well, very well, it's in fine working order" He said, scooping up the flowers and handing them to Fleur with her wand. "Mister Diggory, you next please."

Fleur glided back to her seat, smiling at Cedric as he passed her.

"Ah, now, this is one of mine, isn't it?" said Mister Ollivander, with more enthusiasm as Cedric handed over his wand. "Yes, I remember it well. Containing a single hair from the tail of a particularly fine male unicorn. . . he must have been seventeen hands; nearly gored me with his horn after I plucked his tail. Twelve and a quarter inches. . . ash. . . pleasantly springy.

"It's in fine condition...You treat it regularly?"

"Yes sir, polished it last night." said Cedric, grinning.

Mr Ollivander used Cedric's wand to send a stream of silver smoke rings across the room and pronounced himself satisfied, and then said. "Mr. Krum, if you please?"

Krum walked clumsily toward Ollivander, thrust out his wand and stood there scowling, with his hands in the pockets of his robes.

"Hmm," said Mr Ollivander, "this is a Gregorovitch creation, unless I'm much mistaken?" Krum nodded. "A fine wand-maker, though the styling is not what I'd do. . . however. ."

He lifted the wand and examined it minutely, turning it over and over before his eyes.

"Yes.. . hornbeam and dragon heartstring?" he shot a look at Krum, who nodded again. "Rather thicker than one usually sees. . . quite rigid. . . ten and a quarter inches. . . Avis!"

A number of small, twittering birds flew out of the end of the hornbeam wand and out the open window into the watery sunlight.

"Good," said Mr Ollivander, handing Krum back his wand. "Which leaves. . . Mr. Potter."

Harry walked past Krum to Mr Ollivander, handing over his wand.

Mr Ollivander spent much longer examining Harry's wand than anyone else's. Harry was a little worried that he'd give the game away, seeing as it wasn't supposed have to come from his shop.

"Aaaah, yes," he said, his pale eyes gleaming. "Eleven inches… holly….. nice and supple and….. a phoenix feather?"

Harry nodded.

Mr Ollivander made a fountain of wine shoot out of it, and handed it back to Harry, announcing that it was in perfect condition.

With that, Dumbledore said. "Thank you all." standing up at the judges' table. "If you'll just follow your sponsors down to the grounds where the first task is being held, you will have a while to relax and prepare yourselves…."

Harry got up to leave, but the man with the black camera jumped up and cleared his throat.

"Photos, Dumbledore, don't forget the photos!" cried Bagman excitedly. "All the judges and champions, what do you think, Rita?"

"Ah… yeah, OK, let's do them first," said Skeeter, her eyes on Harry. "And then perhaps some individual shots."

The photographs took forever. As Madame Maxime towered over everyone else wherever she stood and the photographer couldn't stand far enough back to get her into the frame, eventually she had to sit while everyone else stood around her. Karkaroff kept twirling his goatee around his finger to give it an extra curl and Krum, whom Harry would have thought would have been used to this sort of thing, skulked, half-hidden, at the back of the group. The photographer of course wanted Fleur in front, but Skeeter kept coming forward and dragging Harry into the centre of the picture. After that she insisted on separate shots of all the champions.

Fleur was the only one in the room who took note of the fact that Tonks was using the mirror to get the images that Luna would need for the article she was doing on Harry, and her as well she decided.

* * *

At last, they were free to go and Harry headed out with Professor McGonagall and Angela, as Tonks had gone to bring Hermione down to the champions' tent where they would be getting ready for the first task. Harry was wound up, so he was very sensitive to what was going on around him and he was sure that he could sense someone watching them as he was relaxing with Hermione, Angela and Tonks, and Fleur, her parents and her little sister. Gabrielle was a little bundle of energy, and Harry could tell without asking that the bursts of accidental magic around the Delacour household would be frequent and devastating.

Krum was sitting off by himself, brooding, most of the time. The only exception was the time that Fleur went to say something to him, but that was a short visit, because he looked at her like most men, as something to be desired, owned, used. She'd heard how the veelas who travelled with the Bulgarian team were treated and she had no intention of putting up with that. Besides, she'd bonded now with someone who was more of a man than the Bulgarian glory hound, even if he was smaller and five years younger than Krum. She realised that he couldn't be her's, but she was astounded and grateful that the young woman who had him was prepared to share him to an extent. She turned and looked at the young couple as they sat, holding hands, they really were incredible people.

Fleur also went to wish Cedric luck as he sat with his parents, then went back to sit with her family, and Harry, Hermione, Angela and Tonks. Like Harry, she felt as though someone was watching her.

Soon enough, Bagman and Crouch came in and called the champions over. It was hard not to laugh at Bagman because he was wearing his old Wasp team Quidditch robes, so Harry had to try and to ignore that when Bagman started talking.

"Well, now that we're all here… it's time to fill you in!" said Bagman brightly. "After the spectators have arrived, I will be offering each of you this bag" He held up a small sack of purple silk and shook it at them. "From which you will each select a small model of the thing you are about to face! There are different…. ah…. varieties, you see. And I have to tell you something else too.. . Oh yes!... Your task is to take the golden egg!"

Harry glanced around. Cedric had nodded once, to show that he understood Bagman's words, and then started pacing around the tent again, he looked a little green. Fleur and Krum hadn't shown any reaction, perhaps they were better at putting on a face than Harry was but then they, at least, had volunteered for this…

Then they heard the hundreds of pairs of feet passing the tent, their owners talking excitedly, laughing, joking. . . . Harry felt as separate from the crowd as though they were a different species. And then, it hardly seemed a second later to Harry, Bagman was opening the neck of the purple silk sack.

"Ladies first," he said, offering it to Fleur.

She put her hand inside the bag and drew out a tiny, perfect model of the Welsh Green. It had the number two around its neck. Harry knew that she knew about the dragons, but she put on a good enough act to almost convince him of her surprise when she pulled out the dragon. The number on her little dragon showed that Fleur would get her part of this out of the way early, and then she could relax, he was jealous of that, and the fact that she got the smallest, quietest dragon.

It went much the same for Krum. He pulled out the scarlet Chinese Fireball, which had a number three around its neck. He didn't even blink, just sat back down and stared at the ground.

When Cedric's turn came, he pulled out the blueish-gray Swedish Short-Snout, with the number one tied around its neck. Harry had someone new to be jealous of now, because Cedric would be done with his bit very soon.

Knowing what was left, Harry put his hand into the silk bag and pulled out the Hungarian Horntail, and the number four. It stretched its wings as he looked down at it, and bared its tiny fangs.

"Well, there you are then!" said Bagman. "You have each pulled out the dragon you will face, and have the order in which you are to take on your dragons, any questions? OK. Now, I'm going to have to leave you in a moment, because I'll be announcing for the task. Mr. Diggory, you're first, just go out into the enclosure when you hear a whistle, all right? Now. . . Harry. . . could I have a quick word? Outside?"

"Ah. . . OK." Harry answered hesitantly, signalling to Angela and then following Bagman out of the tent and into the trees, where Bagman turned to him with a fatherly expression on his face, though he glanced nervously at Angela standing nearby.

"Feeling all right, Harry? Anything I can get you?"

"What do you mean?" asked Harry, confused. "I…. no, nothing Mister Bagman."

"Have you got a plan?" asked Bagman, lowering his voice conspiratorially. "Because I don't mind sharing a few pointers, if you'd like them, you know. I mean." he continued, lowering his voice still further, "you're the underdog here, Harry. . . . Anything I can do to help. . ."

"No!" Harry answered, but he thought that had sounded rude so he went on. "No... I…. I know what I'm going to do, thanks."

"Nobody would have to know Harry," Bagman added, giving him a wink.

"No, I'm fine Mister Bagman, really." Harry assured him. "I've got a plan worked out, and I…."

A whistle had blown in the enclosure.

"Oh shite! That's the whistle, I've got to run!" Bagman blurted out in alarm, and he hurried off.

Harry walked back to the tent and saw Cedric emerging from it, greener than ever. Harry wished him luck as he walked past, and Cedric smiled wanly at him in thanks.

Harry and Angela went back inside to Fleur and Krum, as their families had been sent out. It seemed only seconds later when they heard the roar of the crowd, which meant Cedric must have entered the enclosure and was now face-to-face with the real version of the dragon he drew.

Harry wished that they'd placed silencing charms over the tent, because it was far worse to have to be sitting there, listening to the crowd scream. . . yell.. . gasp like a single many-headed entity, as Cedric did whatever he was doing to get past the Swedish Short-Snout. Krum was still staring at the ground. Fleur had now taken to retracing Cedric's steps around the tent. And Bagman's commentary made everything much, much worse.. . . Horrible pictures formed in Harry's mind as he heard: "Oooh, narrow miss there, very narrow". . . "He's taking risks, this one!". . . "Clever move, pity it didn't work!"

And then, after about fifteen minutes, Harry heard the deafening roar that could mean only one thing, Cedric had gotten past his dragon and captured the golden egg.

"Very good indeed!" Bagman was shouting. "And now the scores from the judges!"

But he didn't shout out the scores, so Harry supposed the judges were holding them up and showing them to the crowd.

"One down, three to go!" Bagman yelled as the whistle blew again. "Miss Delacour, if you please!"

Fleur was trembling, so Harry gave her a quick hug before she left the tent with her head held high and her hand clutching her wand. He and and Angela were left with Krum, at opposite sides of the tent.

The same process started again. . . ."Oh I'm not sure that was wise!" they could hear Bagman shouting gleefully. "Oh. . . nearly! Careful now. . . good lord, I thought she'd had it then!"

Ten minutes later, Harry heard the crowd erupt into applause once more. . . . so Fleur must have been successful too. A pause, while Fleur's marks were presumably being shown. . . there was more clapping.. . then, for the third time, the whistle.

"And here comes Mr. Krum!" cried Bagman, and Krum slouched out, leaving Harry alone with Angela. He felt more aware of his body, of the way his heart was beating fast, and his fingers tingling with fear. . . yet at the same time he seemed to be outside of himself, seeing the walls of the tent and hearing the crowd, as though from far away.

"Very daring!" Bagman was yelling, and Harry heard the Chinese Fireball emit a horrible, roaring shriek, while the crowd drew its collective breath. "That's some nerve he's showing... and... yes, he's got the egg!"

Applause shattered the wintry air like breaking glass, Krum had finished, so it would be Harry's turn any moment.

Harry stood up, noting dimly that his legs were shaking. He waited, and then eventually he heard the whistle blow again. He walked out through the entrance of the tent, fear rising inside him. And now it was him walking past the trees, through a gap in the enclosure fence.

He saw everything in front of him as though it was a brightly coloured dream. He saw the hundreds of faces staring down at him from stands that had been conjured into existence since he'd last stood here. And he saw the Horntail at the other end of the enclosure, crouched low over her clutch of eggs, her wings half-furled, her big, yellow eyes upon him, a monstrous black lizard, thrashing her spiked tail and leaving gouge marks in the hard ground that were yards long.

The crowd was making a great deal of noise, but whether it was for him or against, Harry neither knew nor cared. It was time to do what he had to do. . . to focus his mind, entirely and absolutely, upon the task in front of him. He'd tested popping around tent using elf magic in the tent after Krum had left and obviously they hadn't managed to block that, if they even thought of it, so that seemed to be his best shot at this, but he had other things to try as well.

Harry drew his wand and advanced until he was about fifteen yards from the Horntail, just outside the range of its flames from what it said in the dragon books they'd looked up. Looking her in the eye, he spoke to her in parseltongue. " _Greetings, great mother._ " She reared back, shocked. _"You are a speaker? We haven't heard of any humans with the gift for many years!"_ Harry bowed to her. _"Yes, mother, I acquired it when I was little. Please know that I do not wish to harm you or your eggs, my task is_ _only_ _to obtain that gold egg that they have placed with your's,_ _and the easiest and safest way for me to do that is for you to let me take it."_

She hesitated. _"I...cannot Speaker, I cannot risk the humans harming my eggs if I do not do as they expect. I heard the red one screaming that her eggs had been harmed, though she was hard to understand because she was in pain as well…."_

Harry tried again. _"That most likely happened because she fought mother. And I know one of the human handlers, the one with red hair, he would stop them doing something that I am sure."_

She nodded, the red haired human was kinder than the others, but _…."I cannot risk it_ _manling_ _, if you wish to take the strange egg you will have to fight me for it!"_

" _Very well, are you ready?"_

The Horntail huffed amusedly at the human as she nodded, and Harry dashed to his left. She sent a jet of fire after him and he responded with a bludgeoning hex as he dodged the flames, staying just outside of her reach to tease her away from the eggs.

After five minutes or so of this she charged him, and that was the moment he'd been waiting for, he popped over to the eggs and quickly grabbed the golden egg before popping back to the entrance he'd come in by.

Safely out of her reach, he called to her in parseltongue. _"I thank you mother, that was a worthy contest, where did they take the red one and her eggs?"_

Applause rose in the stands, hesitant at first and then louder as they realised that he had outmanoeuvred the dragon so quickly and was now standing back at the entrance with the egg in his hands.

"Look at that!" Bagman was yelling. "Will you look at that! Our youngest champion was the quickest to get his egg! Well, this is going to shorten the odds on Mister Potter!"

At first the Horntail was angry at being bested so easily by a human, but then she gave another amused huff, he had played it well, and it was no shame to be bested by a worthy opponent. _"Well played speaker. Why do you ask of the red one?"_

" _I wish to see whether I can help her and her eggs."_ That stopped her, humans had never cared for her kind before, but this manling was no ordinary human. She pointed her head at the gate that the dragons were brought into the enclosure by. _"Through there Speaker. What do they call you manling? I wish to tell my kin that I have found a worthy human."_

" _They call me Harry Potter mother."_ With that, Harry bowed to her again and ran around the enclosure in the direction she'd indicated, kicking himself as he realised that that was where he and Hermione had observed the dragons. The Horntail bugled. _"Harry Potter comes to help the red one!"_ , but of course the spectators only heard her roar.

* * *

As he entered the dragon enclosure, the handlers were discussing whether they should just destroy the Chinese Fireball, so he shouted. "No! She deserves a chance!" They turned to ask who the hell he was, but Charlie saw who it was he blurted out. "Harry? What are you doing here?"

"Trying to save that dragon and her eggs, what happened to her?"

"She's been blinded and half of her eggs were crushed as she was stumbling around in pain."

Harry muttered. "Bastard!" but Krum could wait, he needed to see whether he could help her. He asked them if they could get her eyes open and called for Fawkes. The phoenix flaming into existence shocked all of them, so he had to shout. "Well, get her eyes open!" to get them moving.

Charlie led the scrabble to comply and soon enough they had pulled her eyelids back so that Fawkes could use her tears to heal the dragon's eyes, he thanked Fawkes and went to look at the Fireball's eggs. Half of them were fine, so he asked the Green in parseltongue if she would care for them until the mother was ready. She shared a look with the Short-Snout and nodded. _"Yes, Harry Potter."_ Harry told the handlers to move the undamaged eggs to the Welsh Green, but they just stared at him so, frustrated, he snapped. "Charlie!" and Charlie got them moving.

Harry tried to examine the damaged eggs, but he didn't know what he was looking at, Charlie came back and cast diagnostic charms over them. They were pleased to find that the hatchlings in the eggs were alive and weren't significantly harmed, they were a little early to be hatched but hopefully they would survive. Fawkes dropped her tears into the cracks on each of the eggs and then Harry had the handlers revive the Fireball so that he could talk to her. Charlie was only one brave enough to stay with Harry as she roused.

She raged when she woke, but the other dragons bugled at her that the manling was here to help her and her eggs. That was when she realised that she could see again, and what's more, the manling had a phoenix on his shoulder. When she'd calmed down to talk to, Harry spoke to her. _"Your vision has been healed, but your children need your care, in your pain you broke some of your eggs. They have survived but they need to be hatched now if they are to have a chance to live."_

The Fireball keened at this but the Green and the Snort-Snout bugled at her. _"Are you a dragon or a worm? Harry Potter is trying to save your children, you can do no less!"_ That stopped her, she looked at them, then Harry, and then her eggs, she could sense that he was telling truth, her children lived yet but they needed to be hatched. She suddenly realised that half of her eggs weren't there and started looking around frantically for them but the Green bugled again. _"I care for your other eggs, Harry Potter requested this!"_ She moved slightly so that the Fireball could see her eggs with her own.

The Fireball looked at Harry and then returned her attention to her damaged eggs, beginning to gently breath fire on them. With that, Harry told Charlie that he had to get back and Fawkes launched off of his shoulder, flaming out as soon as she'd gained a little height. Looking at the other handlers, Harry asked Charlie to see if he could get them to keep quiet about Fawkes, because no-one knew that she had come to him and they'd like to keep it that way. When Charlie said that he'd try, Harry picked up the golden egg and ran back to the enclosure.

Hermione, Angela and the rest came running up just before he got there, Hermione latching onto his chest and squeezing the life out of him, "What happened? Where did you go?"

Harry explained that the Horntail had told him about the Fireball being in pain and losing her eggs so he went to see whether he could help them. They looked a question at him and he nodded. "She's OK, and she'd trying to hatch the damaged eggs now, hopefully they'll all pull through."

Neville piped up then. "You were the best, you know, no competition. Cedric transfigured a rock into a dog. . . he was trying to make the dragon go for the dog instead of him. That was a pretty good bit of transfiguration, and it sort of worked, because he did get the egg, but he got burned as well…. because the dragon changed its mind and decided it would rather have him than the dog so he only just got away. Fleur cast a charm to put her's into a trance... well, that kind of worked too, as it went to sleep, but then it snored and this great jet of flame shot out and caught her skirt on fire, so she had to put it out with her wand. And Krum hit his dragon with some spell right in the eyes. The problem was that she went trampling around in agony and squashed half of her real eggs…. they took marks off for that, he wasn't supposed to do any damage to them."

Just then they reached the edge of the enclosure. Now that the Horntail had been taken away, Harry could see where the five judges were sitting, right at the other end, in raised seats draped in gold.

"It's marks out of ten from each one." Neville said, and Harry squinting up the field, saw the first judge, Madame Maxime, raise her wand in the air. What hooked like a long silver ribbon shot out of it, which twisted itself into a large figure ten.

Barty Crouch came next. He shot a number nine into the air.

"Looking good!" one of the twins yelled, thumping Harry on the back. The crowd was cheering harder than ever.

Next, Dumbledore. He put up a six. There were more than a few boos from the stands at that.

Ludo Bagman raised his wand, another ten.

And now Karkaroff raised his wand. He paused for a moment, and then a number shot out of his wand, a four.

"What?" The twin bellowed furiously. "Four? You lousy, biased scum-bag, you gave Krum ten!"

The crowd in the stand erupted as well, booing at the blatantly biased score, but Harry didn't care, he wasn't trying to win this, he was just trying to get through it. His heart felt lighter as he turned to leave the enclosure because those weren't only Gryffindors cheering for him in the crowd. When it had come down to it, when they had seen what he was facing and what he'd achieved, most of the school had been on his side as well as Cedric's. . . . .

"You're tied in first place, Harry! You and Krum!" said Charlie Weasley, hurrying to meet them as they set off back toward the school. "Listen, I've got to run, I just wanted to tell you that the Fireball hatched all of the damaged eggs OK, some of the hatchlings may have minor damage but they should all be fine. But I'm sure that the Fireball will want to see you, that was unbelievable Harry! Oh yeah, they told me to tell you you've got to hang around for a few more minutes.. . . Bagman and the others want a word, back in the champions' tent."

* * *

The others waited outside while Harry re-entered the tent with Angela. He thought back to how he'd felt while dodging the Horntail, and compared it to the long wait before he'd walked out to face it... There was no comparison, the waiting had been _so_ much worse.

Fleur, Cedric, and Krum all came in together, and Fleur came to give Harry a hug. One side of Cedric's face was covered in a thick orange paste, which was presumably mending his burn. He grinned at Harry when he saw him.

"Good one, Harry."

"And you," said Harry, grinning back.

"Well done, all of you!" said Ludo Bagman, bouncing into the tent with Dumbledore and Crouch and looking as pleased as though he personally had just got past a dragon. "Now, just a quick few words. You've got a nice long break before the second task, which will take place at half past nine on the morning of February the twenty fourth, but we're giving you something to think about in the meantime! If you look down at those golden eggs you're all holding, you will see that they open. . . see the hinges there? You need to solve the clue inside the egg, because it will tell you what the second task is, and enable you to prepare for it! All clear? Sure? Well, off you go, then!"

As the others turned to leave, Dumbledore said. "Mister Potter, could you stay for a minute please?"

Once the others had left he spoke again. "We have a serious problem here Mister Potter, your unlicensed use of apparation, the only reason that the issue of underaged magic hasn't been added to it is that it was on the school grounds, but the apparation issue is bad enough on its own."

Crouch stepped in then. "This is a very serious matter Potter, you obviously believe that the rules don't apply to you, but they do! You won't be getting out of this by waving your title around this…."

He tapered off because Harry had just put his hand out without saying a word. Angela placed a piece of parchment in it and Harry offered it to Crouch.

Crouch snatched it off of him, asking. "What's this?" but he froze when Harry answered. "My unlimited apparation license sir."

Both Crouch and Dumbledore were spluttering. "What? No! This can't be real! You have to be seventeen before you can get your apparation license!"

Angela let them rant for a while before she cut them off. "No, you have to reach your majority, and the ruling at the Ministry was that once Harry had been officially declared an adult by Ministry and Wizengamot officials, he had reached his majority, so he took his apparation tests and passed with flying colours."

Crouch snarled back at her. "What are you talking about woman? The boy hasn't been declared an adult!"

Angela smiled at him, but he failed to note that it was exactly the same smile she'd given him when she manoeuvred both him and Dumbledore into declaring just that. "Actually, he has Mister Crouch. Both you and Professor Dumbledore agreed that Harry was a Triwizard Champion and stated that Triwizard Champions _must_ be adults. The relevant officials at the Ministry accepted the recording of that affirmation from two such distinguished wizards as yourselves as being sufficient to officially declare Harry an adult, and then he took his apparation tests. Oh, by the way, Lady Potter was also declared an adult after her marriage to Lord Potter was formally accepted, and she's passed her tests too, so now they both have their unlimited apparation licenses and are licensed to practice magic as well."

The two old men just continue to splutter as they realised how they'd been manoeuvred into categorically declaring that Harry was an adult, and they were so enraged about that that they entirely missed what she'd said about Lady Potter. As there was nothing left to be said, Harry and Angela left the tent, rejoined the others, and they started to walk back around the edge of the forest, talking hard and fast. After Angela shared the news about how they'd nobbled Dumbledore and Crouch, Harry wanted to hear what the other champions had done in more detail.

As they rounded the clump of trees behind which Harry had first heard the dragons roar though, a witch leapt out from behind them. It was Rita Skeeter. She was wearing acid-green robes today, the Quick-Quotes Quill in her hand blended in perfectly with them.

"Congratulations, Harry!" she said, beaming at him. "I wonder if you could give me a quick word? How you felt facing that dragon? How you feel now, about the fairness of the scoring?"

"Yeah, you can have a word," said Harry evenly. "Goodbye."

And he set off back to the castle with the group.

* * *

Once the golden egg was safely ensconced inside Potter Tower, Harry went back down to the dragons with Hermione, Ginny and the twins, Fleur, Angela, Remus and the goblin guards. Hermione wanted to see the hatchlings that Harry had helped save, Fleur wanted to apologise to the Welsh Green for having to fight with her (now that she realised that she knew someone who could speak parseltongue to her), and Ginny and the twins wanted to make sure they had a chance to talk to Charlie before he went back to Romania, in case he left in a hurry.

All the dragons recognised Harry and bowed their heads in thanks for his help, but needless to say they were shocked when the small redheaded female _also_ addressed them in parseltongue. Harry explained it away by saying that they'd both acquired the ability to speak from the same dark wizard who had been active up to twelve years ago. The dragons' reactions to that statement made it clear that Voldemort had not been forgotten by their kin.

With Harry, and Ginny, there to translate, the Fireball's undamaged eggs were transferred back from the Welsh Green and Harry and the others were introduced to the hatchlings. With Harry there, she allowed Charlie to get close enough to cast diagnostic charms over them and they were glad to confirm that none of them had any lasting damage that would threaten their survival.

Charlie's standing as a dragon handler was greatly enhanced that day, as the dragons accepted the assurances of two Speakers that Charlie was a good human who wanted to help them, so he was put in the unique position of being the only handler that the dragons would freely allow to get close to them, their eggs and their hatchlings. The dragons said that they would also pass this on to their kin when they went back, so he would enjoy this position with most of the dragons. Charlie's star was definitely on the rise.

The dragons would have quite a bit to tell their kin when they returned, of meeting two Speakers and the mate of one, of how the assurances of the two Speakers about the red headed human handler matched what they'd seen of his behaviour, and how he was kin to one of them as well, not to mention how the veela had come to apologise for having to fight with a dragon to complete her task. Their news wasn't all good, the Bulgarian was marked for the cowardly way he'd blinded the red dragon and caused her to trample her own eggs, but they were still focusing on how it was only through the efforts of the first Speaker, his phoenix and the red headed handler that her sight and her hatchlings had been saved, and what the they had done to save her and her hatchlings.

Fleur also found over the days before he left that she really liked talking to Charlie. He was more serious, studious and mature than the twins, and she found him attractive. The fact that he wasn't overly effected by her veela allure and he knew quite a bit about veela from academic interest rather than wanting to have one was also an attractive aspect of the man for her. The clincher was what she threw out to see whether it would make him turn away.

She told him how she had bonded with Harry because of the danger of her situation among other things and that when the time was right she intended to let the pregnancy that had been conceived in that bonding continue. The fact that he raged about the situation she'd been put in, understood just how special a bonding pregnancy was, was happy for her and made it clear that he was interested in pursuing an ongoing relationship of some kind with her after the child was born made her ecstatic, because that made him a very special man. She had thought the way that Tonks went on about Bill, the eldest Weasley brother, was just the ravings of a lovesick girl, but the twins had the makings of good men, and if Bill was anything like Charlie, maybe he could be as good as Tonks said he was.


	15. Ballgowns and Bubbleheads

**I never saw any value in the Umbitch's inclusion, or most of the Order of the Pheonix for that matter, so I'm taking the opportunity to flush them early and I doubt that they'll be back.**

 **Usual disclaimers, no rights to any characters portrayed and this is neither the real world nor a Disney Princess tale.**

When Charlie went back to Romania with the dragons, it was with the promise of regular contact from Fleur and the expectations of visits from her, and also Hagrid and Ginny. Hagrid's love of dragons had been given a boost by seeing the dragons brought in for the tournament and the Fireball's hatchlings, and being able to communicate with them through Harry and Ginny just made it all the stronger, especially as the Horntail had talked of Norberta having memories of the big kind human who she first saw when she was hatched.

Of course they had other things vying for their attention as well, Rita Skeeter and the Daily Prophet had been certain that they were untouchable, so their front page articles were full of fanciful and scathing attacks on Harry, Fleur and the group (and the Quibbler of course), and equally fanciful and glowing reports on the spectacular and heroic actions of Cedric, Krum and the Tournament. They countered through the Quibbler with even more spectacular but truthful articles on what actually happened, using actual interviews with Harry, Fleur and her father (who as well as being quite senior in the French Ministry was of an old noble house that had connections to many British noble houses), Cedric and his father, Madame Maxime and Madame Bones. These challenged the readers to check what actually happened with those who were there and the DMLE, but they also included veiled warnings to the purebloods about the fact that if the Prophet felt safe in attacking the most powerful of the Noble and Most Ancient Houses, who would they go after next?

They also laid bare the fact that the head and heir to three of the oldest and most powerful noble houses had been put at risk by being dragged against his will into this tournament by unknown parties for unknown reasons and locked in with a binding magical contract, and it had taken the DMLE to convince the tournament organisers of this. As well as the fact that Cedric and many other pureblood heirs were also put at risk by the organisers' disregard for the dangers while they pursued a spectacle for their own glory, they raised the question about the potential carnage that might have been inflicted on the people of Magical Britain if the _four_ nesting dragons that had been brought into Britain to provide that spectacle had gone on a rampage because one of those nesting dragons had been almost blinded and subsequently caused to almost destroy half of her eggs by the needless and cowardly actions of one of the champions that the Prophet had been praising so much.

That was enough to start opening the eyes of many to dubious nature of what the Prophet published and make them start questioning what they said, but as promised, the first to be destroyed was Skeeter herself, because they'd carefully gone over the recordings and memories of the scenes where she'd reported enough to prove that she was present in places that she'd been banned from and hadn't been seen at. That was how they discovered what appeared to be the same beetle in all of them. They captured the beetle and forced it to reveal its human form, which promptly led to Skeeter's arrest and trial. Her questioning under Veritaserum revealed that the Editor of the Prophet had been aware of her unregistered animagus form and had made use of it to get the dirt on many notable purebloods of old and distinguished houses for their stories.

The only part of this that they held back and didn't publish in the Quibbler was the fact that the Minister and other senior members of the Ministry and Wizengamot had also been aware of Skeeter's animagus form and that they had used this to further their attacks on those that they considered a threat to them, such as Harry and the group. They didn't need that part to have Skeeter imprisoned and break the back of both the Daily Prophet and Witch Weekly through losing most of their subscribers and advertisers. It only took a month to have Skeeter incarcerated and two to break the company behind both the Prophet and Witch Weekly to the point that it could be bought for a pittance. They put Xeno in charge of the company when they bought it and anyone that they kept on was put on notice that they were were on indefinite probation. If any of them tried to publish stories like the Prophet and Witch Weekly used to they would be out before they could say "Oh, Merlin!"

The Ministry and Wizengamot were also put on notice, along with the rest of Magical Britain, after they took over that the Prophet and Witch Weekly would from now on be publishing the truth and would not be told what they could or couldn't print unless there was a _legitimate_ reason to withhold something to protect Magical Britain, so aside from that, anyone doing anything that they shouldn't could expect it to be in the paper for all to see as soon as it was found out.

* * *

This of course meant that they had to get their own house in order first, so Remus was formally registered as a werewolf and Harry and Hermione's animagi forms were registered quietly through people who Madam Bones could trust. They did obfuscate this a little though as Harry and Hermione used the names of Henri and Hermione Flamel (Nicholas Flamel had left _everything_ to Harry, including his name, title and holdings, so Harry could legally use the name Flamel), and they'd inserted Remus's record as a partial transformation nearly thirty years ago (when he was bitten as a child), Henri's record was put in as nearly three years ago when he could first achieve his form and Hermione's record over a year ago after she became his betrothed and could use his name. Sirius would also be registered as an animagus as soon as he was officially cleared of all charges and could come out of hiding.

Another significant change was that Harry, and through their bond Hermione, had been effected by the outburst of veela magic when Fleur transformed during her bonding with Harry. They had picked up pieces of veela magic from Fleur through this and were being trained to handle it by Fleur and her mother, this was mainly the Veela fireballs and some veela healing, sight, glamour and compulsion (what was behind their allure), but they were also growing and maturing faster than they had before (not quite as fast as the change, where veela go through puberty in the space of months rather than years, but notably faster than normal humans) and were growing more powerful, like Fleur was.

There were no records of any other wizards who'd bonded with veela ever managing to do this (not even in the rare cases like Fleur and her grandmother's where they became pregnant through the bonding, so they transform and unlock something at their core which in turn makes the veela much more powerful ), but then there were no records of other veela bondings with wizards who were currently bonded to their soul mate or other wizards being raised by elves, goblins, magical portraits and ghosts from when they were seven and picking up elf and goblin magic either. Harry snorted to himself as he recalled the so-called prophecy that Dumbledore had destroyed his, Neville's and their parents' lives over, 'the power that he knows not'? Yep, being able to use four different types of magic and having a soul mate who could as well should qualify as that!

* * *

December brought wind and sleet to Hogwarts. Every time they passed the Durmstrang ship pitching about in the high winds on the lake, they had a laugh and headed back to their cosy tower. Fleur mentioned that the Beauxbatons caravan was getting chilly too, but they pointed out that as soon as she'd signed the agreement to join the Potter Group, she had a room in the tower, so she could use that if she chose.

Hagrid was of course keeping Madame Maxime's Abraxan horses well provided with their preferred drink of single-malt whiskey, and the fumes wafting around Hagrid's cottage from the trough in the corner of their paddock was enough to make half of those in his Care of Magical Creatures class light-headed. Considering that they were still tending to his Blast-Ended Skrewts, this was less than helpful as they needed their wits about them for that.

"I'm not sure whether they hibernate or not." Hagrid told the shivering students standing in the windy pumpkin patch in their next lesson. "So I thought we'd just try and see whether they fancied a kip . . . we'll just settle 'em down in these boxes. . . ."

There were now only ten skrewts left, as they'd found that their desire to attack each other had not been negated by their exercise sessions. The ones that were left were now approaching six feet in length. Their thick gray armour, powerful, scuttling legs, fire-blasting ends, stings and suckers combined to make the skrewts most dangerous creatures things in Harry's mind, and he'd faced dragons! The class looked less than impressed with the large boxes Hagrid had brought out for the skrewts, all lined with pillows and blankets.

"We'll just lead 'em in here." Hagrid explained. "and put the lids on, and then we'll see what happens."

But the skrewts apparently did _not_ hibernate, and nor did they appreciate being forced into pillow-lined boxes and nailed in. Hagrid was soon yelling. "Don't panic now, don't panic!" while the skrewts rampaged around the pumpkin patch, which was now strewn with the smouldering wreckage of the boxes they'd tried to put them in.

Half of the class had run away by then, but the rest remained, trying to help Hagrid. Together, at the cost of numerous burns and cuts they had finally managed to restrain and tie up nine of the skrewts so there was only one skrewt left to catch.

Hagrid shouted "Don't frighten him, now!" from where he was sealing the other skrewts back into their crates as Neville and Harry shot mild spells at the skrewt, which was advancing menacingly on them with its sting arched, quivering, over its back. "Just try and slip the rope around his sting, so he can't hurt any of the others!"

Neville responded with "Hurt them? What about us?" as he and Harry backed towards the wall of Hagrid's cabin, still holding the skrewt off with their spells.

In response, Hagrid launched himself forward on top of the skrewt that had cornered Harry and Neville and flattened it. A blast of fire shot out of its other end, withering the pumpkin plants nearby, but Hagrid calmly slipped a loop of rope around the skrewt's sting and tightened it. Then he got off the slightly squashed skrewt and started tugging it over to join the other skrewts.

* * *

They had another minor issue in this period, Dobby brought another elf up from the kitchens to ask for a favour. The elf's name was Winky and she was in a terrible state, she looked as though she hadn't washed herself or her clothes in months. Dobby explained that she had been the Crouch family's house elf, but when the Death Eaters had attacked the camp site at the Quidditch World Cup, she didn't stay in the tent like her master had told her because it was set alight like all the tents around it, so she'd fled into the woods.

While she was hiding in the woods, she'd heard a wizard making an incantation which turned out to be casting Voldemort's dark mark and she crept over to see what they were doing. When she got there, the wizard was gone, but she recognised her master's wand laying on the ground and she'd just picked it up to return it to her master when she was stunned. When she was revived, she had wizards from the Ministry accusing her of casting the mark, which then led to a fight between her master and those wizards because he said that if they accused his elf of this, they were accusing him. Crouch was angry at her for leaving the tent, even though the tent had been burnt like all the others, but he got really angry when he found out that it was his wand that had been used to cast the dark mark. He blamed her for what had happened and set her free in hope of separating her and the embarrassment of the incident from his family.

Other elves came and found her after the wizards had left, because they'd felt the breaking of her bonds to the Crouch family, and took her back to Hogwarts with them, but she'd just kept getting worse over the time she'd been at Hogwarts because she'd believed herself good for nothing since she'd been ejected from her bond to her family. That was why Dobby brought her to Potter Tower, to ask if she could be bonded to the House of Potter.

Harry and Hermione looked at each other, then Hermione went down on her knees to look Winky in the eye and asked if she wished to work for the House of Potter as an indentured servant (that was the best compromise she could find between her belief that all the elves should be free and the curse on their kind that most weren't able to cast off which meant that they just faded away until they died if they weren't bonded to a magical family, as Winky was doing now).

Winky objected to the terms of being paid one galleon a week and a day off a month (even though Hermione had let her talk it down from two galleons and a day off a week) most strenuously, but she was so desperate to be bonded that she agreed. She also objected to Hermione's first order that she had to clean herself up and get herself well before she could start work, insisting that she was ready to work, but Hermione countered that by pointing out that Dobby, Tally and Dommy were all well presented and the picture of health and told her that that was the standard that the House of Potter expected of its elves. So, with that, Potter Tower had four resident elves, more than most noble houses. Once Tally had taken Winky off to get her cleaned up and see to her needs, Dobby wrapped himself around Hermione's legs and wept as he thanked her for accepting his friend into the great Harry Potter's family.

* * *

Obviously, Dumbledore hadn't stopped his games, either. All students from Fifth Year up at Hogwarts had had the requirement for dress robes included in their new school year requirements list that had been sent out in August, and the delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang had received the same requirements, but it wasn't until a week before school broke up for the Chistmas break that Dumbledore and Bagman advised everyone else that this was for the Yule Ball that was being held on the Winter Solstice for the Fifth Year and older students to celebrate the tournament. This of course led to a mad rush for most of the older students to get dates for the ball, and the caveat that younger students may be invited as partners led to many of the prettier girls in the lower years being invited to come to the ball.

Professor McGonagall pulled Harry aside at the end of their first class after the announcement and nervously informed him that the champions would be expected to open the ball by having the first dance with their partners. She obviously thought that this would be a problem for him, especially with his upbringing, as most thirteen year old boys would have been terrified by this, but he smiled at her and told that Angela had been making him take dance lessons since he was eight, as part of his training to be Lord Potter and fit into pureblood society. After giving a relieved laugh, she said. "I rather doubt that I need to ask who will be accompanying you Lord Potter?"

Harry matched her laugh. "No Professor, Lady Potter will indeed be accompanying me, but there may be some surprises in other pairings for the ball."

At her raised eyebrow he explained that Viktor Krum had all but demanded that both Fleur and Daphne be his dates for the ball, and he'd been quite incensed when they'd both turned him down flat. To get back at him, and most everybody else, they'd decided to go to the ball together, so Daphne would be the second of the champions' dates. That had made them think about how the other younger girls in the group could go to the ball and the others took a leaf out of Fleur and Daphne's book, so while Ginny would be going as Neville's date, Luna was going as Susan's date, and Astoria was going as Padma's date. Fred and George were of course going with their girlfriends, Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson, who'd joined the Potter Group and become vassals of House Potter around the same time as Fleur, Daphne and Astoria.

Professor McGonagall laughed again. "That will indeed be interesting Mister Potter, I presume that you have everything in hand for the young ladies' dress robes?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, we wanted to get in before the rush for the Christmas parties, so as soon as we'd worked out who was going with who, we all went to a seamstress in Paris that the Delacours are associated with to make arrangements for everyone's dress robes to be made, Katie, Angelina, Angela, Remus and Tonks included. I think our group will look quite nice, if I do say so myself."

She nodded with a smile at that. "I'm sure you will, do you know who Mister Krum managed to get to go with him in the end by any chance? And what about Mister Diggory?"

Harry laughed. "Viktor is taking Pansy Parkinson as his partner, apparently she was regarded the most attractive girl available in Slytherin after Daphne turned him down. Cedric is taking his girlfriend, Cho Chang."

She didn't miss the expression of distaste that crossed his face at that last and her mirth faded. "Yes, she was one of those girls who bullied Miss Lovegood, wasn't she?"

Harry just gave a tight lipped nod at that, but they managed to have a laugh about Krum taking Pansy Parkinson. There was little doubt that her father would throw whatever it took at a seamstress to get her dress robes made in time to impress everyone at the ball. They also laughed about the fact that he'd no doubt be thanking the gods that her betrothal to Draco had been broken when he lost his family name and fortune, because the idea of hooking his daughter up with a celebrity like Viktor Krum would be like a dream come true for someone like him. Of course, any fool should know that whatever Viktor did with Pansy that night, or until he left Hogwarts at the end of the tournament for that matter, would be forgotten when he left without looking back at the end of the tournament as Pansy and her family had nothing to offer that would merit any type of commitment from someone like Viktor Krum.

Ginny and the twins had a laugh about the fact that Percy Crouch was going with some Hufflepuff Seventh Year by the name of Audrey Yardley, nothing much was known about her other than the fact that she was as boring as Percy and bossed him about like his mother (which was probably why she was going with him, because no-one else would go with either of them).

They also had a laugh about the way that Ronald Fudge was moaning at anyone who couldn't get away from him fast enough that he should be getting a dispensation to go to the ball because he was the son of the _Minister_ , so he was _important_! Quite aside from the fact that no-one but him had ever though that he was important (not even his father apparently), he'd obviously missed the fact that he didn't have a hope of getting a date for the ball because every girl in Hogwarts loathed him, his disgusting habits and his fat, slovenly appearance.

With the news about the Yule Ball throwing everyone's Christmas plans into disarray, most of the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Year students stayed at Hogwarts over the Christmas break. Most of the younger girls who'd been asked to the Ball rushed home to get dress robes made up so they'd have something suitable to wear, the ones who couldn't do that got a dispensation to go to the shops in Hogsmeade. Of course, no-one in Potter Tower had that problem, they had to go back to Paris for the final fittings a few days before Winter Solstice, but in the meantime they went home to Potter Manor.

* * *

Even though they'd been part of the Potter Group since the beginning of November, it was Katie and Angelina's first time at the Manor, and they were astounded that this was Harry's life away from school, because except when he was putting teachers and officials in their place, he was such a nice, down to earth boy. Seeing the centaurs, unicorns and hippogriffs in the woods and how the elves, goblins and ghosts were integrated into the family was also amazing. Because the Yule Ball had interrupted the Delacour family's traditional Christmas plans, Harry invited them to spend Christmas at Potter Manor as well and Fleur's parents were brought over with Gabrielle and Fleur and Gabrielle's grandmother, who wanted to meet this couple who'd managed to bond with her granddaughter and acquire veela magic through that bond.

Another reason to go back to Potter Manor was that most of them were still studying hard to do their best in both their magical and non-magical studies, and they had better facilities at the Manor for that. It wasn't lost on Katie, Angelina or the Delacours that Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout, Babbling and Vector were also coming to the Manor to coach sessions on their subjects (Professors Babbling and Vector, along with Madam Pomfrey, had also become vassals of House Potter so that they'd be protected if they went up against Dumbledore, so the majority of the staff of Hogwarts were loyal to Harry), and that they obviously weren't strangers to the Manor.

On the day of the Winter Solstice, they all got ready at the Manor and popped back into Potter Tower a short time before the Yule Ball was due to start. Fleur and Daphne caused a stir when everyone else realised that they were there as each other's partner, and Krum looked enraged that the two women who had snubbed him would come together like this. Krum started to pull out his wand, but at that moment his rage turned to terror, because he felt something squeezing his heart and when he looked around in a panic, he saw Harry reaching his hand out towards him, fingers crooked. When he caught his eye, Harry gave him a positively evil smile and his fingers twitched as he squeezed. Viktor felt that squeeze and almost lost control of his bowels in his terror as the smile had left Harry's face, but his cold gaze bored into Victor as he raised a finger to his lips. There was no mistaking his message and Viktor nodded frantically, there was no way he was going to say a word, crossing someone who could reach into your chest and stop your heart, and probably rip it out for that matter, was asking to be killed.

Harry was quite pleased with himself as he watched Krum rush off to the boys' room before he embarrassed himself. Managing that rather tricky piece of goblin magic that the curse breakers used to turn off traps when they were disabling the defences in booby trapped tombs had given him quite a sense of achievement, but more to the point, Krum wouldn't try to do anything against any of them again, and he wouldn't say a word about it either, because he was now terrified of what Harry might do to him.

When Dumbledore, Madame Maxime, Karkaroff and Professor McGonagall came out to escort them into the Ball and asked where Krum was, Harry laughed and said that he'd had to make a bolt for the little boys' room as he'd been caught short. Dumbledore and Karkaroff went to rebuke him for saying that but stopped when they saw the look in his eye, neither of them wanted to cross him at that moment either. When the shaken Krum had returned, they all made their entrance.

* * *

Inside, any comments about Fleur and Daphne, Susan and Luna or Padma and Astoria were quickly stifled when piercing looks were turned on the gossipers. But the whispers about 'Potter must have done something to Krum, because Krum's terrified of him!' were allowed to circulate. As well as everyone being scared of Harry and Fleur's abilities after their showing in the first task, it was common knowledge that Remus, Angela and Tonks were part of Harry's guard because of their fighting ability, and while no-one outside of the group knew that Rackclaw and Krogar, standing there in their shining but quite functional ceremonial armour, were among the most feared and respected of the goblin warriors, they still scared everyone.

Harry, Neville, the twins and Remus took turns dancing with the dozen ladies of their group, and the girls were dancing with each other and other friends at times too, so no-one was left out. The girls tried to drag Rackclaw and Krogar onto the dance floor but they refused (they drew the line at helping with the dance lessons at the Manor), they had more luck with Professor Flitwick, who did a round with those who asked. The boys and Remus also danced with some of their lady professors and Madam Pomfrey. Hagrid mainly danced with Madame Maxime, though he also danced with some of the lady professors, Hermione, Fleur, Angela and Madam Pomfrey. Hagrid was actually dancing quite well, courtesy of the dancing lessons that Angela had been giving him, along with the twins, Remus, Tonks, Ginny, Luna, Katie and Angelina (the rest of them having had dance lessons as part of their upbringing).

Madame Maxime also pulled Harry onto the dance floor for a dance, saying that she'd been hearing all night about what a marvellous dancer he was. Even though she was quite in her cups by then (something that Fleur was angry with Hagrid about until Tonks whispered to her that it was actually Madame Maxime who'd been plying _him_ with a rather potent magical world version of absinthe for most of the night), she danced with a grace that belied her size.

All in all, the Ball was enjoyed by most who attended, except for the fact that for some reason Barty Crouch didn't attend, so Minister Fudge had come in his place, accompanied by his toad of a Senior Undersecretary, Delores Umbridge. The Minister had been quite put out that most found a reason to dash off whenever he tried to talk to them, and the only ones who danced with him were Professor Trelawney and Umbridge. Umbridge on the other hand angered Harry by making loud comments about how disgusting it was that Mudbloods, creatures and half breeds had been allowed to attend a Ministry affair like this whenever she looked their way.

While he wasn't silly enough to take direct action against her, he wasn't about to let her get away with that either, so he quietly called for Dommy and arranged for something to be slipped into her meal. About ten minutes after she started eating it she was running out of the Great Hall with a suspicious stain on the back of her robes and she stayed in the girls' room for the rest of the night. Umbridge was quite upset when she found that Fudge had left without her at the end of the Ball, believing that she'd left when she never came back to the Ball.

* * *

The article that Luna wrote about the Ball, using images from the fixed mirror recordings and what Tonks took with her's, was well received by most, though Karkaroff and Krum were angry about the comment about Krum being caught short just before they entered the Ball and Umbridge demanded a retraction of the article and a formal apology to be published after Luna reported that the Minister's assistant, Miss Umbitch, had to leave the Ball early after having an unfortunate accident, twisting the knife a little more by saying that she hoped that it all came out alright. Half of the students in the Great Hall were falling about the floor laughing about that, but they agreed that the rest of the article and the pictures were delightful. Ronald Fudge on the other hand was quite upset when he found out that his father had been at Hogwarts, but hadn't come to see him.

A couple of days later, Ministry officials tried to storm into the Quibbler offices with Fudge's pet Aurors. When they finally got inside they found goblin guards and solicitors waiting, but Madam Bones was also there with Aurors who were actually working for the boss of the DMLE. Unfortunately for Dawlish and the others, they didn't notice their boss or the other Aurors until after they'd drawn their wands on the goblins and threatened them that they'd blast them to kingdom come if they didn't get out of the way and get back to Gringotts where they belonged immediately. They were preparing to do so without giving them a chance to comply, so they got rather a rude shock when Madam Bones barked. "Dawlish! What in Merlin's name do you think you're doing?"

Dawlish tried to weasel his way out of the fix he was in by saying that the Minister had sent him with these officials to get the lies that had been printed about him in the Quibbler retracted, but she tore him to shreds, reminding him quite loudly in front of all present (and in the street outside) that his job was _purely_ to act as the Minister's bodyguard, something that he obviously couldn't be doing if he was in a newspaper office with a group of thugs pretending to be Aurors, trying to strongarm said newspaper into retracting an article that according to the information that she'd received was totally factual, aside from perhaps the Minister's assistant's name, who hadn't to her knowledge been introduced to the students attending the Ball.

One of the other Aurors was stupid enough to try and say that they _were_ Aurors, which gave her the perfect opportunity to tell them all that they weren't any more. They were here without any authorisation from the DMLE and were obviously involved in an attempt to intimidate a legitimate business unlawfully. The owner of that business had called the DMLE to ask if the men entering his offices were there on official business, which was why she was here with _real_ Aurors. Dawlish tried to argue that he was here under the Minister's orders, but she cut him off again to remind him _again_ that his duties were _purely_ to serve as the Minister's bodyguard, so his being here without the Minister meant that he was both abandoning his duties and attempting an unsanctioned and illegal act, as were the others who came with him. At that point she turned to Xeno and asked whether he'd like to press charges, and this was something that he was all too happy to agree to.

While the other Aurors were taking Dawlish and his cohorts into custody, Amelia turned to the now pale faced officials and asked them what their business was here. One stuttered that he'd been ordered to demand that the article be retracted and a formal apology issued to the Minister and Senior Undersecretary Umbridge. He almost wet himself when she fixed him with a predatory look and just asked. "On what grounds?" but he was apparently braver than the Minister and continued. "On the grounds that they were severely embarrassed by the inflammatory and untrue claims made about them in the article."

Madam Bones held up a finger. "Firstly, I have seen the recordings from the Ball and while some of the wording used might have been a little more delicate and the reporter had no opportunity to confirm Minister Fudge's assistant's name, the facts reported were quite accurate, the stain on the back of her robes was quite plain to see in the recordings as she ran out of the room." She held up another finger. "Secondly, nothing was said about the Minister other than the fact that he officially attended the Ball with his assistant when the head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation could not attend, so there is absolutely nothing in the article to embarrass the Minister, in fact there were some nice pictures of him at the Ball, which should be good for his public image."

She held up a third finger. "This means that there is nothing for the Quibbler to retract or apologise for, the most that could be required would possibly be a correction of the Minister's assistant's name if they were given formal notification of the lady's name, though why she would _want_ to be identified in these circumstances I cannot understand." She held up a fourth finger. "Which leads us to the question of who exactly sent you here with the intent of attempting to illegally intimidate the Quibbler into retracting an accurate and legitimate article?"

The official's courage had deserted him now and he stood before her, quaking like a rat before a hungry snake. When he didn't respond, she snapped. "Well? I want that name!"

He buckled at that. "It was Senior Undersecretary Umbridge Ma'am." She fixed him with her gaze. "Did you get these orders in writing?"

"No Ma'am."

"Was anyone else present when you were given these orders?" He pointed at the other Ministry official with him and she looked at him. "Do you corroborate what this man has just told me?"

The other official nodded nervously. "Yes ma'am, she said that she would destroy the Quibbler, and she was going to start by making them retract the article and publicly apologise for their lies."

Madam Bones looked from one to the other. "Do you both consent to submit to questioning under Veritaserum and giving us your memories of this event?"

Both men nodded frantically, saying that they'd gladly do that. After Dawlish had confirmed that he'd gotten his orders from Umbridge as well, claiming that they were from the Minister, they were all taken back to the DMLE offices. The officials were just glad that they weren't in manacles like the soon to be ex-Aurors.

* * *

While she was collecting memories from Dawlish and his gang, she also took the memories of what happened at the Shrieking Shack, and just what they'd intended to do to the goblins in the Quibbler's offices in case the dementors interfered with those memories while they were at Azkaban, because she was determined to send them there.

Once the men had all been questioned under Veritaserum and they'd collected copies of their memories of the relevant events, Madam Bones called for an emergency Wizengamot session and asked for the Minister and Umbridge to attend. She also called for Xeno to attend and made sure that Angela and Augusta were present, giving Augusta temporary proxy rights to vote for House Bones as well as Longbottom.

When Umbridge strutted into the courtroom and saw Xeno there, she simpered, believing that Dawlish had put the editor of the Quibbler up on charges, and reminded herself that she'd have to reward him for his foresight. Her dreams of vindication came crashing down though when she was directed to the defendant's table and she started screaming that she was the _Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic_ and they couldn't treat her like this! When Madam Bones' voice cut across her's to say "If she refuses to sit quietly, put her in manacles like the others, but take her wand off of her before she tries something stupid." this of course made Umbridge go for her wand, so she was disarmed, shackled, and sat on a bench where she was soon joined by the eight manacled Aurors.

Her screeching was abruptly cut off by a "Silencio!" from one of the Aurors and then Madam Bones asked the Minister whether he had ordered or authorised Miss Umbridge's illegal attempt to storm the Quibbler offices with a group of thugs and two Ministry officials to force the newspaper to retract the article that had been published with a formal apology for printing outright lies about him and her?

Fudge wasn't known for his quick thinking and he showed why then, because he just stared at her in terror, until she had to prompt him "Minister Fudge? Did you order or in any way authorise this attack on the Quibbler offices?"

That broke him out of it. "What? No! Of course not! I didn't know anything about this!"

She hid her smile as she came back for clarification. "So just to be clear Sir, you are saying that you knew nothing of this illegal activity that Delores Umbridge instigated and this was not related in any way to her duties with the Ministry of Magic?"

"No, I mean yes, I had absolutely no knowledge of what Delores was doing and it had nothing to do with me or the Ministry!"

She nodded to him. "Thank you Minister." She turned to address the members of the Wizengamot. "Now before we start calling the witnesses to this illegal activity, I believe that it would be helpful for the Wizengamot to have the full information in regard to what this was about…."

Dumbledore tried to say that a minor matter such as this hardly rated a formal Wizengamot trial, but she cut him off, saying that they would show a serious abuse of the power of the Ministry and an attack against a business which could well have ended in murder if it hadn't been stopped.

With that, she projected the Quibbler article about the Ball so that it could be read by those in the court room, highlighting the words which had incensed Umbridge, and then did the same when she replayed the recording of the events in question, freezing it on the image of Umbridge running out with a large stain on the back of her robes. She left that image up as she questioned the officials, Dawlish and his men, also showing the memories that had been submitted by them. Only then was Umbridge questioned, and she was stupid enough to try and deny what she'd said after the others had testified under Veritaserum and their memories had been shown.

Fudge didn't want to lose an assistant like Umbridge who'd do anything he said, but he wasn't about to let her drag him down with her, so he threw her to the wolves, not even trying to argue about her being fired from the Ministry or spending six months in Azkaban. He was even less happy when Dawlish and the other Aurors all went the same way, as it had been even more useful to have a half a dozen or so Aurors who'd do whatever they were told on hand that he could use to make his problems go away, like when he had been trying to get Sirius Black disappeared quietly. But it was the same issue there, he wasn't going to let them drag him down, he'd find a way to get a suitable replacement for Dawlish who would do what he wanted and make sure that he'd find others who would do what they were told too.

The two officials got off with black marks on their records, demotions and three weeks' suspension without pay. They didn't complain about that, because while it would be a struggle, seeing everyone else involved being fired and sent to Azkaban rather put things into perspective.

It was only when Fudge tried to give Amelia his requirements for Dawlish's replacement that he realised that this was not going to go at all the way he wanted. Amelia shook her head. "I'm sorry Minister, this incident has just highlighted the fact that Aurors need to be under the proper command structure, Dawlish had obviously been corrupted by Ministry officials like Umbridge and then he in turn apparently corrupted those others. I'm must admit that I failed to follow up the matter properly after that business at Hogwarts, but I promise you that I will now be cleaning house properly in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Anyone who tries to do anything outside of the proper DMLE structure will be out, and will go to Azkaban like those lot if I have my way."

"I will assign a suitably qualified Auror to serve on your protection detail and we'll have a roster worked out inside a week for the on-going schedules, if they're in the Ministry for no more than a week at a time they shouldn't have the opportunity to be corrupted like Dawlish and the others did. I will let you know who is coming and we will do the same each time the Auror on your protection detail is changed. It may take a little getting used to Minister, but it will settle down soon enough, and you will be properly protected this way instead of the man going off to do illegal favours for someone else in the Ministry and bring the reputation of the Ministry into disrepute."

"Now, now Amelia, I don't think this is the right way to go about it at all, I need to have someone I know and can trust permanently assigned to me..."

She cut him off. "But that's the point Minister, when they're in here for an extended period without proper supervision, bad eggs like Umbridge can get to them and turn them. I hate to think about what might have happened if you had been attacked while Dawlish and his gang were off acting like Umbridge's private Death Eaters. No, this is the only way we can ensure that you have the proper protection. Actually…. Auror Shacklebolt here will serve the first stint as your protective detail, he's one of the best Aurors I have, so you'll be safe with him. I will notify you when the roster is set up, but now I need to go back and clean up all the other messes that will have accumulated while we were dealing with Miss Umbridge's little escapade. Good day Minister!"

* * *

With that she took off before he could tell her that he wasn't happy with her solution, because she had to get away before she gave in and allowed the big grin to break out on her face. She'd pop out to Potter Manor that night and fill in the rest of the details on what had happened, but she was certainly happy, Umbitch and eight turned Aurors were out of the Ministry and doing time in Azkaban. None of them would be getting back into the Ministry again as long as she was part of it.

Xeno lived at the Manor now, of course, so they all had a good laugh about how the Umbitch, Dawlish and the others had gone down. Harry didn't need to tell Amelia what had prompted him to have Dommy dose her meal, because that had come through loud and clear on the recording when they were reviewing it in the DMLE. It was amusing that half of the Wizengamot had commented that, considering that she was a young student, the young lady reporting on the Ball had been remarkably restrained in the way she had reported Umbridge's 'unfortunate accident', going by the image of the back of her robes that was hanging over all of them. Luckily, the recordings had also confirmed that at no time had Umbridge been officially introduced and Dumbledore had actually said the phrase 'Mister Crouch has unfortunately been unable to join us tonight, so Minister Fudge and his assistant have honoured us by coming in his place' They could hear Umbridge complaining about being referred to like that in the background, but it didn't carry well through the noise and the name she said could quite easily have been 'Umbitch'. So Luna had essentially been cleared by the Wizengamot on what she'd reported in her article.

* * *

When Harry had first opened his egg, he'd recognised the screeching as merpeople's voices when heard above the water. He could get the gist of the message, but he also knew that it would be a lot clearer underwater, so he and Fleur took their eggs into the indoor pool they had in the solarium to listen to them in turn, it was a little disappointing to find that both eggs had the same message;

"Come seek us where our voices sound,

We cannot sing above the ground,

And while you're searching, ponder this,

We've taken what you'll sorely miss,

An hour long you'll have to look,

And to recover what we took,

But past an hour, the prospect's black,

Too late, it's gone, it won't come back"

But they did have to concede that it would probably be unusual for champions to compare messages.

Discussing this over the break, they'd pretty much agreed that the bubblehead charm would be the best thing to use when Fleur's father mentioned a plant that was used in the Mediterranean to breath underwater. Neville and Professor Sprout had jumped at the challenge of finding an obscure plant and dug up the references to gillyweed, which reportedly transformed humans to allow them to breath and operate better underwater for an hour at a time.

The gillyweed sounded a little too good to be true, but Harry, Hermione, Fleur, her father, Neville, Professor Sprout, Remus and Angela went to the Delacour's villa in Monaco via portkey. They were working on the idea that Monaco should be central enough that they could base themselves there while they hunted for information and a source for gillyweed, and that worked out quite well, as they found everything they needed in the magical quarter of Monaco.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of their problems, as when they were testing gillyweed and the bubblehead charms in the Mediterranean (where it was a lot warmer than Scotland), they found that Fleur, like most veela, didn't operate at her best under water. The problem stemmed from the fact that veela worked best with air and fire, so being underwater cut her off from the energy forms that she was compatible with. If she didn't have to fight a battle down there she should be OK, but if it got tricky she could be in big trouble. The gillyweed also didn't work very well for her because she was only half human, so she'd have to use the bubblehead charm. It did, however, work quite well for Harry, so he took back enough to work with after making arrangements to get more as they got closer to the date of the second task, because it needed to be used within two weeks of being harvested.

They were a little disappointed about Fleur's problems when they got back, but they had a way forward, so they experimented with the other things they'd be needing to spend an hour in Lake Black in a couple of months. One of those things was skintight dragonhide suits. One advantage of the dragonhide's blocking magic was that it tended to keep the warming charms contained within the suits, so that they lasted longer. Another advantage was that dragonhide didn't need an impervious charm to prevent it from getting waterlogged and it's slick surface helped them glide through the water easier. A third was that it would protect them to a degree if they did get into a fight down there. They also carried goblin blades and practised with them. They all carried knives, and of course Harry could summon the Sword of Gryffindor if he needed it.

They practised in the lake on the grounds of Potter Manor, and even though most of the surface was iced over, they were warm and limber enough to swim easily. With more practice, it was easier to swim in the suits and use whatever they did to breath underwater. Practising there also gave them the opportunity to try interactions with the merpeople and grindylows who lived in the lake. The Potter merpeople agreed that the clue meant that something precious would be taken from them, and they would only have an hour to recover it, that last line sounded rather final.

When they went back to Hogwarts after the break, Harry, Fleur, Hermione, Remus and Angela slipped out and got practice in Lake Black when they could, but they stayed near the shore and well away from the merpeople who lived in the deeps. Over the last two months before the task, their swimming got stronger and stronger, as did their nonverbal and wandless spell casting, and they got used to drawing and using the goblin blades underwater.

* * *

When the day of the second task came though, they were made to realise that they had missed something blindingly obvious, and this could break them. It wasn't some _thing_ that was being taken from them, it was some _one_! The other girls were heading to the library for a short early study session to get their minds off the task when they and the goblin guards were suddenly stunned by a large group of wizards, and when the others came to in an empty classroom nearly an hour later, Hermione and Gabrielle were missing.

That was when Dumbledore got his first real look of what he was actually facing in Harry, because he used elf magic to pop into Dumbledore's office and the old bastard, who was chuckling away at how he'd shown the boy and his friends who the master really was suddenly found himself slammed up against the wall with his feet a few feet off the floor and his throat being crushed. The thing that terrified Dumbledore was that the boy was standing on the other side of the room and the hand that he could feel crushing his throat was still attached to the arm that was stretched out towards him.

When Harry spoke, his rage made it reverberate through Hogwarts. " _ **Where are they?**_ "

That let Angela, Remus and Fleur know where to have Tally and Dommy take them to, and when they arrived, Angela took in the scene at a glance, shouting to get through Harry's rage. "Harry! You need to let him go so he can talk!" It still took him a bit to register, but when he did, he released Dumbledore so that he fell to the floor. Then he repeated his question a little more quietly. "Where are they?"

Dumbledore was trying to get his breath back and he rasped out. "They are what you will sorely miss for the second task that is about to start!"

Harry didn't raise his voice, but the palpable menace in his voice terrified Dumbledore. "If anything happens to either of them, anything at all, I will ensure that nothing remains of the Dumbledore family on this Earth, and the name Dumbledore will be cursed by any who remember it!"

He quickly popped back to Potter Tower to strap on his knife, wand and Fang, throw his robes on over the dragonskin suit and grab his dragonskin skullcap and goggles. He had to wait for a moment for Fleur as the others had popped in just behind him, but as soon as she was ready, he grabbed her hand and popped them down to the lake shore. Cedric and Krum were already there waiting as Harry and Fleur ran up, fixing their skullcaps and Harry commanded Bagman. "Start the task!"

Minister Fudge, who was for some reason standing in for Crouch again, was starting to say. "Now Harry, we can't do that until Headmaster Dum..." when Harry wandlessly summoned and then banished a rock into the bell so that it gave out a great peal. He stuffed the fresh gillyweed in his mouth, quickly shrugging out of his robes and pulling off and dropping his boots on the ground before running into the water, settling his swimming goggles into place as he went. This time Fleur was a couple of steps in front of him as she'd dropped her robes as he rang the bell, and her boots as he was stuffing the fresh gillyweed in his mouth, she had just cast the bubblehead charm and dived into the water when the gillyweed took effect and Harry dived in after her.


	16. Blood In The Water

**Usual disclaimers, no rights to any characters portrayed and this is neither the real world nor a Disney Princess tale.**

As soon as the bell rang, Cedric and Krum had run into the water, Cedric had pulled Harry aside at the Yule Ball to suggest opening the egg underwater, so he knew what the clue was and the Durmstrang delegation had been looking smug again, so Karkaroff had obviously told Krum the clue again. Cedric was using a bubblehead charm like Fleur while Krum obviously tried to transform into a shark, but whether by intention or failure, he'd only half transformed, which meant that he could breath under water but couldn't move very well. Even though Harry was the last into the water, his finned feet and slick dragonskin suit meant that he cut through the water faster than any of the others. Fleur had almost caught Krum when Harry passed her and she flashed him a determined grin, waving at him to go on because she knew that he'd make sure that Gabi was OK, just as she'd do the same for Hermione if by some chance she found them first.

It wasn't possible to see that far through the murky water, so Harry was following the bottom of the lake as it went deeper, skimming over the weeds that covered the floor. The others had disappeared behind him when he felt something grab his ankle. Looking back, he saw a grindylow hanging onto his leg and more coming out of the weeds and reaching for him. A few non-verbal wandless bludgeoning hexes knocked any creatures that they hit flying and scattered the rest. Any that could disappeared into the weeds again, because he obviously wasn't the easy prey they'd been looking for.

After that, he made sure to keep a bit more distance between himself and the lake floor when he began swimming again, but suddenly hearing a voice shocked him. As he spun around, he saw Moaning Myrtle's ghost gliding beside him and she spoke again. "You're going the wrong way Harry, they're over there." She pointed off to her right. "I can't go with you, because they chase me for sport if they see me, nasty things they are..."

Harry gave her a thumbs up and mouthed 'Thank you Myrtle' before he turned and swam off in the direction she'd told him. Sure enough, after about another twenty minutes the Merpeople's village came into sight, their dwellings were stone mounds that looked as though they were meant to create caves. Some of these had grindylows tethered outside as if they were pets or hunting dogs and faces were poking out of the openings to watch him as he swam past, faces with grayish skin, yellow eyes and long, wild, dark green hair and beards. The only thing they seemed to wear was necklaces hung with stones or teeth.

Some of the merpeople came out of their dwellings to follow him, and he noted that they were all holding spears. He was obviously getting closer to the centre of the village though as the stone mounds were growing closer together. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that the group that was following him kept growing larger, and more were coming out of their dwellings as he passed. Eventually he came into an open area in what must be the centre of their village, it was featured a large, rough hewn statue of a merman holding a spear and the four hostages were tied to it at intervals.

At first he thought that they were dead, and he was about to explode until he noted little trickles of bubbles rising from each of them. Pansy Parkinson was at one end, then Cho Chang, then Gabi, then Hermione, but the thing that really worried him was that nearly all the mermen there were gathered around Gabi and Hermione and they seemed to be clutching their spears with purpose. He glanced at his watch and saw that over thirty five minutes had elapsed since he rang the bell, but looking around, he couldn't see any of the others.

* * *

Harry started to move towards Hermione, but when he did, the mermen rose to block him, raising their spears. He had a sense of foreboding as he withdrew and cast a goblin charm to reveal magical compulsions, and the most aggressive of the mermen in front of him showed indications that they'd had a compulsion cast over them. Harry swore to himself that he was going to kill that old bastard, because he could count the people he could think of who might be able to successfully cast compulsion charms on multiple mermen on one hand with plenty of fingers left over, and only one of them was involved in this thing. He obviously wanted Harry, and Fleur as well apparently, dead, and he'd hit on a good way to do it with no witnesses down here.

Thinking that extra numbers could only help, Harry carefully drew his wand, holding it up and casting a powerful Lumos incantation non-verbally that caused a brilliant light to shine out like a beacon from the tip of his wand. He kicked himself for not saving that until he needed it when he saw the mermen in front of him's reactions, because he'd obviously blinded them, but then he looked around and saw that they were all similarly effected. Not willing to pass up the opportunity, he quickly put his wand in his mouth and called the Sword of Gryffindor, cutting Hermione and Gabby free from the spear they were tied to with one wipe before resheathing the Sword in Fang, grabbing them both in his arms and swimming away as fast as he could.

He felt bad about leaving the others, but from what he had seen the compulsion was only meant to stop and kill him and Fleur, probably Hermione and Gabi as well for that matter. Hopefully that meant that the Mermen would let the other two just take their hostages and leave, and he could only hope that he'd be able to cut off Fleur before she reached the village.

Krum swam straight past Harry without a pause, heading for the village that he could now see, closely followed by Cedric just as Fleur turned up in front of him. She tried to take Gabi off of him but he shook his head as he was a far stronger swimmer in this form. He signalled her to keep an eye out behind them in case the mermen came after them.

It turned out that the danger wasn't behind them though, as they discovered that the mermen had cut them off and as they swam up towards the shore they saw at least a score of mermen grouped in front of them, blocking their way.

Harry stopped and let Gabi go to get his wand in his hand as he summoned his energy before non-verbally sending a series of powerful blasting spells into the mermen. He was aware that he may well have killed some of them with this, but they were being compelled to attack and probably kill the people that he loved, and if it was a choice between Hermione, Fleur and Gabi, and the mermen who were determined to stop him from saving them, well in his mind there was no question what to do. As soon as he'd cast the 'Reducto's, he pushed Gabi to Fleur, then they both started swimming again as quick as they could with a girl in one arm and their wands ready in the other hand.

When they broke the surface near the shore, the gillyweed's effects hadn't quite finished yet, so Harry used a banishing spell to push Hermione to the shore then retreated into the water again, watching from just below the surface as Angela and Remus waded in to get Hermione, Fleur and Gabi out of the water. He then turned and cast an 'Accio Mermen!' spell to pull the ones he'd stunned or killed with the blasting spells up to the shore.

Harry got out of the water as soon as he changed back and checked on Hermione and Gabi before calling for Madam Bones to tell her Aurors to secure the mermen for questioning. Amelia gave him a questioning look at that but nodded and quickly sent her Aurors into the lake to secure the mermen but keep them underwater so that they could breathe. Harry was relieved that all the ones who were brought to the shore at least were still alive, some just barely perhaps, but they were alive.

* * *

With the mermen being dealt with, Madam Bones took him further along the shore and quietly asked him what they needed to be questioned for, but her eyes went wide when he asked. "How many wizards here do you think would be capable of successfully casting compulsion charms over multiple mermen?" She didn't say anything as he went on to say that they needed to find out what the mermen's orders had been for when the champions came to get the two hostages that they were guarding so aggressively while they ignored the other two. Were they were supposed to stop them or kill them? And what was supposed to happen to the hostages after that? They also needed to find proof of who it was who had cast those compulsion charms over the mermen.

Just then they saw Dumbledore hurrying towards them, putting on his shocked and horrified act and Harry murmured "Wand." to Amelia, who gave a small nod. Before Dumbledore could launch into his tirade, Amelia cut him off. "Could I examine your wand please Professor Dumbledore?"

That stopped him. "What? Why would you want to examine my wand Amelia?"

"It appears that some questionable magical activities have been carried out here and we will have to check everyone's wands, so your wand please Professor?"

Harry had been taken through most of the Auror's training by Angela over the last five and a half years, so both he and Amelia could see that Dumbledore was about to try something and they were ready when he suddenly cut off saying. "Of course Amelia, I merely wished to underst…." to flick up his wand and cry "Oblivia..." but Harry was faster and threw an "Expelliarmus!" at him, closely followed by an "Accio wand!" to take the wand.

He was shocked by how powerfully the wand throbbed at him when he caught it, but Amelia didn't appear to notice anything when he handed it over to her to do a "Prior Incantato." on it. When she did, she swore, because all that showed up was the aborted 'Obliviate' he'd just tried to cast at them. Dumbledore had proved that he was guilty _by_ trying to Obliviate them, but they still didn't have the proof they needed for an open and shut case.

To satisfy his curiosity, Harry asked Amelia whether she felt anything from the wand, but she just shook her head, unsure about what he was asking. Harry held his hand out, requesting it back, and once again the power throbbed at him, so he laughed at the old man who was picking himself up off the ground. "This is a very powerful wand Professor, but it appears that it's chosen itself a new master, yet another thing that's left you because you've been found unworthy it seems."

Dumbledore looked horrified. "What? That can't be! Give me my wand!"

Amelia tried to stop him, but Harry handed over the wand, enjoying the stricken look on the old bastard's face as he realised that he had indeed lost the wand to Harry. What hit Dumbledore the most about this though was that he knew, but no-one else did, that this was in fact the legendary Elder Wand, held to be the most powerful wand in existence. In the right hands this wand could do incredible things, but it was clear that those hands were no longer his.

Harry reached out and plucked the wand out of Dumbledore's hands as he cried, happy that he'd struck him such a blow. He wasn't by nature vindictive, but this old bastard had just tried to hurt or kill Hermione, Fleur and Gabi, and on top of that he had tried to Obliviate him and the Director of the DMLE to cover up his actions. He deserved to suffer!

* * *

They prodded Dumbedore to make him stumble back towards the judging area. When he saw that the Merchieftainess Murcus had arrived and was coming to where the Aurors were guarding the mermen to find out what had happened to them, Harry cast a silencing spell over Dumbledore. While Harry was fluent in Mermish and so was Dumbledore if they let him speak, Harry suggested to Amelia that they needed to get an appropriate Ministry official here to talk to her so there could be no suggestion of tampering with the story. Amelia agreed and sent one of her Aurors to the Ministry to get an authorised official who was competent in Mermish and bring them back immediately.

Amelia then told Murcus the gist of the story in English, and she agreed to wait for the official in English.

The Auror was back inside fifteen minutes with the official, and they first questioned the injured mermen so that they could be taken away for treatment. It turned out that only about half a dozen of the mermen had had any different orders from the rest of the merpeople, but Murcus was just as incensed as Harry, Fleur and Angela when they said that they'd been told to let the other two go without interfering but they had to stop those two hostages from being rescued by any means. They'd been blinded like the rest of the merpeople by the bright light, but as soon as they'd regained their sight they went as fast as they could to cut off the ones they were meant to stop before they got away, they got in front of them easily because they were faster and knew a much quicker to get there.

They were sure that all they'd have to do to stop the humans was wait in front of the area where they had to get back to and engage them when they arrived, because they had more than ten to one odds and they were in their world, but the humans had almost blasted them out of the water and then got past them before any of them could recover. Before they'd recovered enough to do anything, they'd been dragged to the shore and tied up. When they were asked what they were told to do with the hostages and they said that they were to leave them down there, the anger levels went up again. Unfortunately, none of the mermen had any memory of who gave them those orders.

When they'd told everything they knew and a goblin had been brought in to cast the detection spells over them to confirm that the ones with those instructions were the same ones who showed that compulsions had been cast over them, Amelia told Murcus through the Ministry official that they'd gotten enough from her mermen and they could be taken away for treatment. When the mermen had been taken away, Murcus told her part of the story.

There was supposed to be no opposition to any of the humans coming to collect their hostages in the Merpeople's village, the mermen were supposed to stay back and do no more than shake their spears at the ones coming to get the hostages for appearances' sake. She had been as surprised as Harry (she waved at him to indicate who she meant) when he got the aggressive response he did when he approached the hostages at that end, and she was about to come forward to stop the mermen when she was blinded by the bright light that he cast.

When she could see again, the human had taken the two hostages at that end and gone, but the ones who had been aggressively trying to stop them were gone too. Just after that, the other two humans arrived, cut their hostages free and took them away without any trouble. As soon as the humans were gone, she'd brought her other mermen up to the shore to find out what had happened, but on the way up they'd felt those other shocks coming through the water.

Harry stepped in to tell his story then, with the official translating for Murcus. He told how he'd arrived at the centre of the village to find nearly all the mermen there waiting in front of Hermione and Gabi and how he'd been aggressively blocked when he tried to approach Hermione. He explained how he'd been suspicious of the level of aggression and how it was only seemed to be intended to stop anyone getting to Hermione and Gabi, so he cast a non-verbal detection spell for compulsions and found that the ringleaders had all had compulsions cast over them. He was asked by the official about the detection spell but he waved it off as just something that he'd been taught by a paranoid grandfather. Amelia smiled to herself at the official's naivety when he swallowed that, considering a goblin had just cast the spell right in front of him, but she didn't say anything.

He explained that he'd cast the lumos spell in hope of drawing the others to the village, desperately hoping that the extra numbers might help with the situation, but he hadn't realised that he'd blind all the merpeople with that bright a light. Harry stopped and apologised to Murcus for that, saying that it hadn't been intended, but she waved it away, saying that he had people to save and it hadn't hurt anyone.

Then he explained that, realising the opportunity he'd inadvertently been given, he quickly cut both girls free and swam off with them because he didn't know whether Gabi (waving over at Gabrielle) would be safe if he left her behind, what with the way the mermen were acting. He told of how Cedric and Krum had passed him, heading for the village, just as Fleur reached them and then he and Fleur headed back to the shore with their hostages. Just before they reached the shore however, they ran into the group of about twenty mermen who still appeared determined to stop them, so he sent multiple non-verbal Reducto spells into them and then they got through and out of the water as quick as they could.

Harry once again apologised for injuring her mermen but she cut him off. "You were protecting your people from those who wanted to harm them! You also defeated a greatly superior force and acted with honour! You do not have anything to apologise for human. Most, if not all of my mermen will survive, but it will take them a long time to make up for the shame of what has happened today. The one I want in our hands is the one who interfered with my mermen!"

That one Harry handed over to Amelia to deal with. She grimaced, but accepted that this was something that she had to handle. She carefully avoided looking at Dumbledore as she tried to explain to Murcus how the processes differed between the simple justice system of the merpeople and the more complex processes in the human world, how suspicion of guilt wasn't enough and they had to provide enough proof to convince many chieftains of the guilt of a wizard before he could be punished.

Amelia could see that her answer frustrated Murcus, but she was trying to be truthful with her. Eventually she promised that she'd let her know when something solid could be proved and asked if there was any way that she could contact the merpeople. Murcus looked at her, confused. "What is wrong with the horn that has been used to summon us for hundreds of years Ameeleeah?"

Murcus didn't miss the look of anger that Amelia threw at Dumbledore at that piece of information as Harry cancelled the silencing spell and she bit out. "Where is the horn to contact the merpeople Headmaster, give it to me!"

Dumbledore bristled at that and said. "You have no authority to dictate to me here Madam Bones! That horn holds great significance to Hogwarts and I will not release it!"

Harry was still angry and it was on the tip of his tongue to let Murcus know that it was Dumbledore who'd interfered with her mermen, but instead he reapplied the silencing spell and called for Dommy. When he popped into existence seconds later Harry asked him to find the Grey Lady and ask her to take him to where the horn used to summon the merpeople was. When he found it, he was to bring it back and give it to Miss Amelia.

Dommy returned about five minutes later with a strange looking horn and handed it to Amelia. Amelia held it up and asked Murcus whether this was the correct horn, she nodded and explained how to use it to summon them. She nodded again at Amelia's suggestion via the official that she try to keep her people away from humans until she summoned them with the horn, for their own safety.

* * *

Before she left Murcus waved to Harry and asked. "What is this one called? My people will want to sing songs about the warrior who came to us and defeated us fairly."

Amelia smiled at Harry, because she knew how he hated that. "He is called Harry Potter Murcus." She pointed over at Hermione. "The one he came to rescue is his mate."

Murcus bowed in turn to Harry, Hermione and Amelie, then turned and disappeared into the lake with nary a splash.

Amelia thanked the official and her Auror took him back to the Ministry. Before they went back to the judges, she swore her Aurors to secrecy then told them that the Chief Wizard was a suspect in the events of the day at the moment, but because of the publicity around this tournament he was being allowed to participate in the judging as if he was a free man.

She charged them all with keeping an eye on him and gave orders that if he tried anything at all, he was to be stunned as many times as it took to contain him, making sure that he heard her orders. She also had him searched from head to toe for any magical objects or devices, spare wands, port keys, rune stones, anything. When they'd all been stripped off of him, an anti apparation/portkey/magic anklet was clamped onto him and sealed, then Amelia sent an Auror to bring the other judges over.

When Madame Maxime, Karkaroff and Minister Fudge arrived, the Aurors kept everyone else back out of earshot. Amelia told them the story that they'd pieced together between the mermen, the Merchieftainess and Harry, as well as the events of the morning when the group had been attacked and stunned by a large group of wizards and Hermione and Gabrielle had been kidnapped, and then looking at Dumbledore and Karkaroff she added. "We are currently investigating who was responsible for tampering with some of the mermen with the intent of killing the Champions Lord Potter and Mademoiselle Delacour and their hostages Lady Potter and the younger Mademoiselle Delacour and giving consideration to the request of the Merchieftainess that we turn these people over to the merpeople for punishment. We are also investigating the assault, kidnapping and endangerment of the First lady of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter and the daughter of Count Delacour, the French Deputy Minister of Magic. Associated with this are charges in regard to the assault and endangerment of a number of other persons, included among these are my niece, the Heir to the Noble and Ancient House of Bones, both Heirs to the Noble House of Greengrass, and the Heir to the Minor House of Lovegood."

"In addition to this, we have line theft considerations in that the Noble and Most Ancient Houses of Potter and Gryffindor, the Noble and Ancient House of Bones, the Noble House of Greengrass, the Minor House of Lovegood and the French Noble and Ancient Houses of Flamel and Delacour could all have been ended today if the victims of these crimes had died through the actions of these criminals. Because of this, everyone involved in these crimes at any level will end up in Azkaban when they are caught, unless the French Ministry of Magic can show a stronger claim than we can to any of these criminals."

She looked at Karkaroff specifically then. "In a separate matter, the French Ministry of Magic has not been made aware of this as yet, but we have a recording of Viktor Krum drawing his wand and preparing to attack both the Heir to the Noble House of Greengrass and the Heir to the French Noble and Ancient House of Delacour without cause or provocation until he suddenly stopped because he became afraid of something, from the recording it appeared to be Lord Potter, just before the Yule Ball at Hogwarts on the Winter Solstice. We would have to have negotiations with the French Ministry of Magic of France as to who has a stronger claim to him, but the first action would have to be expelling him from the Triwizard Tournament, which would of course strip him of his magic, that would be rather a blow to the hopes of the Bulgarian National Quidditch Team, now wouldn't it?"

"The reason I bring this up, other than to make you all aware of the magnitude of the crimes that have been occurring here and remind everyone that anyone suddenly disappearing will be regarded as doing a runner and will therefore be tracked down and dragged back to find out just what they're feeling so guilty about, is that we're unfortunately expected to keep this damned Triwizard Tournament going in an effort to generate good will for Magical Britain, but the biased travesty of judging in the first task will _not_ be allowed to be repeated! The judging will be based on the facts of the event _only_! Karkaroff, if you try anything like you did in the first task your boy will be stripped of his magic and sit in Azkaban until we and the French finish arguing over him. _You_ will be questioned under Veritaserum and tried for your crimes as a Death Eater, which at the very least should put you in Azkanban for the rest of your life. For that matter, you will make a suitable adjustment for that bullshit score you gave your boy in the first task in this score!"

"Dumbledore, the same goes for you, quite aside from anything else we may be able to find, your attempt to obliviate Lord Potter and myself today to try and stop me from doing a Prior Incantato on your wand…. Sorry, it's Lord Potter's wand now, isn't it? Is enough to guarantee you'll be questioned under Veritaserum too and I have no doubt that we'll be learning quite a few very interesting things from you then. But anyway you two will judge this task fairly without the bias that you tainted the last task with or you'll be be in DMLE custody before you can say schoolboys' bums and I seriously doubt that you'll ever leave that custody, do you understand me?"

They both just glared at her until she hissed. "I said, do you understand me?" at them, so they just spat "Yes!" at her.

She turned to look at Fudge and Bagman, who both looked terrified. "Is there anything that either of you gentlemen want to tell me?"

Bagman started stammering. "No, no, definitely not, no…." as she just kept looking at him, then he broke down. "Alright! I've been trying to fix the betting pool on the tournament so that I can win enough to get the goblins off my back! I tried to pay them off in Leprechaun gold after a ridiculous long shot came through at the World Cup but they caught me. I was trying to get Potter to do badly at the start to drive his odds up so that I could clean up at the end, but he'd never listen to me when I tried to give him advice! Now I'm ruined!" He hesitated. "I also rounded up some wizards at Dumbledore's request to get the hostages for this task. But I swear I didn't know that they were going to stun them almost to death! No-one ever said anything about that! I thought he just wanted that many to intimidate them and get them to come quietly!"

If looks could kill, the one Amelia turned on Dumbledore then would have saved them a trial, but she turned her gaze back on Bagman. "I want every name and where I can find them! Those wizards first, then everyone you tried to bilk at the World Cup and for how much. If I get every one of those wizards I _may_ not turn you over to the goblins, but if I don't turn you over, you're paying every knut you owe!"

She turned her gaze on the Minister. "Minister? Is there anything that _you_ want to tell me?"

He wilted under her gaze, stuttering. "No, no, not a thing Amelia….." but the way he was darting looks at Dumbledore told buckets, so she just whispered. "Alright Minister, we'll talk later."

Finally she looked at Madame Maxime, who looked beyond furious. It was the first time any of them had seen her give any inkling that she had the famous giant temper. "Pardon, Madame Maxime. You must know that I never suspected you of any of this, I did however think that you deserved to know what has been going on, with regard to your champion and other matters."

Madame Maxime took a big breath (such as only a half giant could) and nodded. "Oui, Merci Madame Bones…." She looked down at the judging area where Cedric and Krum were waiting with Cho Chang and Pansy Parkinson. After glaring at Krum, she turned back to Amelia. "What of this Ced-ric? Was he involved too?"

Harry piped up to answer that. "I don't think so Madame Maxime. Cedric attempted to help me with the clue for this task and I'm sure that he would have presumed that I'd share that with Fleur. He's always been loyal and honest to the best of my knowledge. I don't believe that he would ever involve himself in things like this. The headmaster and his girlfriend yes, but not Cedric."

Madame Maxime nodded to him. "Merci 'arry."

* * *

With that, Karkaroff was searched and locked into a suppressing anklet like Dumbledore had been and the Aurors got the same order for him as they had for Dumbledore. With that, they called Fleur, Hermione and Gabrielle over and they headed back to the judging area. Harry started chuckling and the girls of course wanted to know what he could find amusing on a day like this. He leaned over towards Hermione so Fleur could hear if she leaned in as well and told them that Madame Maxime was the only head of school here who could do magic at the moment.

They both looked at him with wide eyes and he explained that Dumbledore was almost certainly behind everything today and there would be a three way fight between Britain, France and the merpeople about who gets him, but Madam Bones was also nailing Karkaroff to the wall for being a Death Eater, his biased scoring and Krum's aborted attack on Fleur and Daphne, she had Bagman for getting the wizards who'd attacked the girls for Dumbledore, bilking people out of fortunes when he lost big time at the World Cup and trying to fix the betting on the tournament to win the money he needed to pay the goblins before they got him, and she was threatening to expel Krum from the Triwizard Tournament to strip him of his magic then leave him in Azkaban until she finished arguing with the French about who gets him over his attempt to curse Fleur and Daphne at the Ball.

He grinned again. "And I'm the new master of Dumbledore's wand."

Hermione almost screamed. " _ **What?**_ "

Everyone looked at her and she blushed, apologising, but she grabbed Harry's arm and hissed. "Explain!"

He quickly explained how Dumbledore had tried to obliviate him and Madam Bones but when he'd disarmed him, it had chosen him as its new master. He leant in closer as he whispered. "It's so powerful, I've never felt anything like it before. I'm starting to wonder how much of his magic was actually Dumbledore, and how much was the wand!"

* * *

At the judges' table, they conferred for a few minutes more and then Bagman stood up.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached our decision. Merchieftainess Murcus has told us exactly what happened at the bottom of the lake, and we have therefore decided to award marks out of fifty for each of the champions, as follows. . . ."

"Fleur Delacour, though she demonstrated excellent use of the bubblehead charm and she returned with her hostage within the time limit, she had some assistance in retrieving her hostage. We therefore award her forty points."

The Beauxbatons Delegation and Potter Group cheered, as did most of the boys present.

"Cedric Diggory, who also used the bubblehead charm, unfortunately returned with his hostage one minute outside the time limit of an hour. We therefore award him forty two points."

Enormous cheers arose from the Hufflepuffs in the crowd, along with most of the Hogwarts students, and Harry saw Cho staring at Cedric in hero worship.

"Viktor Krum used an incomplete form of Transfiguration, which nevertheless worked to a degree, but he returned with his hostage five minutes outside the time limit of an hour. We therefore award him thirty five points."

The Durmstrang delegation and quidditch fans cheered and Karkaroff clapped, looking very sour.

"Harry Potter used gillyweed to great effect," Bagman continued. "and he returned with his hostage within the time limit. However this is not all, the Merchieftainess informed us that Mr. Potter was first to reach the hostages, he encountered far more resistance than any of the other champions and showed extraordinary ability in underwater combat, he also lit a beacon to guide the other champions to the merpeople village where the hostages were being held. The judges agree that this shows exceptional moral fibre as well as great skill and merits full marks. Therefore . . . Mr. Potter's score is fifty points."

The Potter Group and Gryffindor students burst out cheering, and most of Hogwarts joined in, as did the Beauxbatons delegation when Fleur kissed him on the cheek, as there was no question where her assistance had come from.

"The third and final task will take place at dusk on the twenty-fourth of June." continued Bagman.

"The champions will be notified of what is coming precisely one month beforehand. Thank you all for your support of the champions."

* * *

By the time they got back to Potter Tower, the elves had drawn restorative baths for most of them, which they gladly prepared to climb into as soon as they undressed, or had their clothes vanished from them in Harry and Fleur's case. Harry, Fleur and Angela's anger spiked when they saw all the bruises on Hermione and Gabi from the barrage of stunner and other spells they were hit with, but Angela stopped Hermione from getting into the bath and quickly sent the elves to stop the others too, sending Dobby to get Madam Pomfrey to examine every one of them who had been ambushed that morning so that she could testify to the state that they were in when they put that old bastard on trial.

Tonks and the goblin guards were included in these examinations, and it was a testament to the battering that they'd all received that the goblin guards agreed to get into restorative baths as well, because goblin warriors do not admit weakness, especially not ones with reputations like Krogar's. Poppy also examined Harry and Fleur and was happy to report that aside from being physically drained (and magically as well in Harry's case after that battery of non-verbal Reductos that he threw to get them through the mermen and back to the shore), they were actually in better shape than the others.

Once Poppy had examined them, they climbed, or were helped, into the baths. They were most worried about Gabi until Fleur reminded them of the veelas' healing powers, and Hermione realised that that was probably why she was feeling better than the other girls, too. Harry told Hermione and Angela the whole story of what happened down there while they were in the restorative bath, or so they thought until they watched his and Fleur's memories of the experience. Half of the girls screamed when the angry mermen rose up to block him from getting to Hermione and prepared to attack, and again when they saw the ones blocking them from reaching the shore. When they watched him non-verbally blasting the mermen out of the way so that they could escape, Angela and Remus looked at each other in shock. James and Sirius had been powerful wizards, and Lily was close to their level, but none of them had ever came close to this, and he was only thirteen?

Watching his memory of the experience reminded Harry of something important, so as soon as they were done, the group went down to Myrtle's bathroom in the dungeons to thank her for her help down there. Without her, it was doubtful that they would have found Hermione and Gabi in time, and they now knew that Dumbledore's plan had been to have them both drown down there.

As he thought about that with his anger rising, Harry called out a request to have a word with the Grey Lady. As usual she appeared quickly, and he asked her to pass on his request to Hogwarts that Dumbledore be restricted to his chambers and prevented from having any visitors. When he explained what Dumbledore had done, she was as angry as a ghost could be, and said that if he was quite rightly being imprisoned, then he did not deserve any comforts. It didn't take much to get Harry to agree with that, and a quick word to the elves had the headmaster's chambers stripped bare, all that was left were the rugs on the floors.

Angela smiled at that, but she suddenly realised that there was a gap in what they were doing, so she grabbed her mirror to call Madam Bones and have all the floos in Dumbledore's chambers immediately blocked as well. That in turn prompted Harry to remember something else and he sent Dommy to inform the elves that Dumbeldore was not allowed to leave his chambers, so if any elf took him out of there, they would be banished from Hogwarts. It was the Grey Lady who had added that, as Dumbledore was being held as a prisoner, from now on he was to be fed as an elf.

Angela was still connected to Amelia via their mirrors, so Amelia heard all of this and laughed, asking that she be able to visit the old bastard when he was getting his first meal as a prisoner. Angela laughed and told her that he didn't have any furniture any more either. As she did so, she was thinking that the laughter would end the moment Amelia read Poppy's report on the injuries that all of them, including Susan, had received from what that old bastard had put in place for today. Also, the reports they'd heard from the mermen, Murcus and Harry paled in comparison to watching Harry's and Fleur's memories of what they faced down there, so she'd be sending them over with Poppy's report.

The issues didn't finish there though, because when they brought in the wizards who Dumbledore had hired to attack the Potter Group, they were the dregs of society (who else would agree to attack students, young girls like that?), and when their memories were examined it was found that they had groped and interfered with the girls while they were unconscious (which explained some of the bruises that Poppy had found). It was just lucky that they didn't have the time or opportunity to do any more than that. This was another thing to be laid at Dumbledore's feet, because he knew the type of wizards he was hiring, and he also made no effort to tell them that the girls were not to be interfered with. The ones who'd taken the most liberties, especially with Susan and young Gabi, were severely injured while they were at the DMLE but they all swore that their injuries were pre-existing, because they didn't want to receive any more visits from the Director of the DMLE. They all ended up in Azkaban after a quick trial. Those who it wasn't the first time for went in for considerably longer.

When they'd heard about Madam Bones' comments to Bagman, the twins were quite interested to see how accurate the records he supplied would be, because he owed them over ten thousand galleons in winnings from the World Cup too! They'd made the same bet as the goblins and he'd paid them off in the same leprechaun gold as well. They may not _need_ the money, given that they'd done quite well for themselves from their share of the proceeds after the basilisk was rendered and they'd put down nearly five hundred galleons at over twenty to one odds on a lark, but it was the principle of the thing, they'd _won_ that damned bet and the bastard had tried to pay them off in leprechaun gold!

Madam Bones had a private discussion with Fudge, and he admitted that Dumbledore had secured his help to organise some of the things that he'd done, but like Bagman, he swore that nothing had been said to him about what Dumbledore had intended to do. In an effort to get on their good side, he did whatever she said when it came to do with anyone who was involved in this.

Amelia also had to have another meeting with the Merchieftainess (using Harry as a translator) to tell her that while they hadn't extracted proof as yet, they believed that Dumbledore was the one who had interfered with her mermen. She tried to explain the concept of what they were attempting with the Triwizard Tournament and the reason that they couldn't immediately deal with Dumbledore the way that they all wanted to, but she showed her a mirror recording of how Dumbledore was living now so that she could see that measures were being taken and assured her that he would be properly dealt with when it was possible. The Merchieftainess agreed that the measures taken in the interim were acceptable to her and requested that she be advised of the final outcome of the matter.

* * *

At least they had nearly four months' leeway before the third and final task now. Everyone at Hogwarts was told that Dumbledore was tied up and had handed his school duties over to Professor McGonagall, and in a carefully supervised visit to the Wizengamot, he officially handed over his duties to Augusta Longbottom until further notice. They would have dearly loved to toss the old bastard straight into Azkaban, or through the veil for that matter, but as Amelia had said, the Ministry of Magic was relying on the Triwizard Tournament to boost Magical Britain's image in the eyes of the rest of the magical world, so they couldn't just kill the old bastard, especially not after Barty Crouch turned up dead.

After everything else that came out after the second task, Madam Bones had decided that it was time to see what role Barty Crouch had in these matters, and whether he'd done a runner because of that. It took them a few months but what her Aurors discovered though was that he hadn't done a runner, because they found his unkept body in a remote house belonging to the Crouch family. The healers determined that he'd been there since sometime around Christmas (when he disappeared) and he'd been all but starved, it looked as though he'd been locked up in one room all that time. The most worrying thing was that it looked as though he'd actually been killed with the killing curse.

The house itself raised other questions, because it looked as though someone else had been locked up in the room where he was found for years. There had been no-one in the Crouch family but Barty and his house elf since his wife died, as his son had died in Azkaban before that, so who had Barty Crouch been keeping locked up in that house, why had he locked them up and where were they now? The most popular theory was that it had been a Death Eater (given the killing curse that killed him), and they'd somehow managed to turn the tables on him back around Christmas. Why they'd waited nearly six months to kill him no-one could understand, but perhaps they wanted to punish him like he was punishing them.

They couldn't find any evidence that Crouch had been actively involved in what Dumbledore was doing, but there were a lot of unanswered questions about the Crouch family. Percy was declared the head of the Minor House of Crouch, seeing as he was the last of the Crouch line, but one of the biggest questions was why the magical instruments wouldn't recognise him as that. There was quite a bit of theorising on this subject, with the most popular theory being that he had been born as Percy Weasley, even though he was Crouch's son, and the instruments still recognised him as this. The goblins accepted this reasoning and gave him access to the Crouch vault and assets. For the first time in his life, Percy was comfortably well off and he started making plans to marry Audrey as soon as they left Hogwarts.

Keeping Dumbledore locked up but on-hand so that he could be trotted out for carefully supervised appearances at tournament events was reluctantly agreed to as a necessary evil. It was also agreed that Fudge would continue standing in for Crouch at any tournament events, and as the third task was already planned out and work had started on it, it was further agreed that Bagman would follow this through with Madame Maxime, Karkaroff and the Hogwarts staff. Madame Bones was keeping oversight of the matter, seeing how much illegal activity seemed to be associated with this tournament.

Aside from dealing with Dumbledore and the tournament, things had quietened down quite a bit for the group, and they were actually managing to concentrate on studying again. Astoria was still slogging away at catching up to Daphne and the other girls, but she was doing quite a good job of it, and Harry and Hermione were spending time working on the veela magic. The growth spurt that started when they bonded with Fleur had already finished so they were both several inches taller, their bodies had also matured so it looked as though they'd stopped growing now.

Fleur was enjoying working with the group, because they were being tutored at a level above what could be offered in school classes, so she was developing faster than she could at school. When they introduced tutors for the extra subjects of Alchemy and Ancient Studies that Fleur was working on for her NEWTs into their training, Harry, Hermione and Padma jumped at them, Neville, Susan and the twins joined in as well, but they weren't quite as enthusiastic as the others.

Finally, in the last week of May, Professor McGonagall held Harry back after the Transfiguration class.

"You are requested to go down to the Quidditch field tonight at nine o'clock Mister Potter," she told him. "Mister Bagman will be there to tell the champions about the third task."

So at half past eight that night. Harry left the Tower with Remus and the goblin guards and went downstairs. As they crossed the entrance hall, Cedric came up from the Hufflepuff common room.

"What do you reckon it's going to be?" he asked Harry as they went together down the stone steps, out into the cloudy night.

They walked down the dark lawn to the Quidditch stadium, turning through a gap in the stands, and walked out onto the field.

"What have they done to it?" Cedric demanded indignantly, stopping dead.

The Quidditch field was no longer smooth and flat. It looked as though somebody had been building long, low walls all over it that twisted and branched off in every direction.

"They're hedges!" said Harry, bending to examine the nearest one.

"Hello there!" called a cheery voice.

Ludo Bagman was standing in the middle of the field with Krum and Fleur. Harry and Cedric made their way toward them, climbing over the hedges. Fleur stepped up to kiss Harry on the cheek when he reached them.

"Well, what d'you think?" asked Bagman happily as Harry and Cedric joined them.

"Growing nicely, aren't they? Give them another month and Hagrid'll have them twenty feet high. Don't worry," he added, grinning at the less-than-happy expression on Cedric's face. "You'll have your Quidditch field back to normal as soon as the task is finished! Now, I imagine you can guess what we're making here?"

No one spoke for a moment. Then…..

"Maze," grunted Krum.

"That's right!" said Bagman. "A maze. The third task's really very straightforward. The Triwizard Cup will be placed in the centre of the maze. The first champion to touch it will receive full marks and that's it."

"We seemply 'ave to get through the maze?" said Fleur.

"There will be obstacles of course." Bagman answered happily, bouncing in his excitement. "Hagrid is providing a number of creatures . . . then there will be spells that must be broken ... all that sort of thing, you know."

"Now, the champion who is leading on points will get a head start into the maze." Bagman grinned at Harry.

"Then Mister Diggory will enter, then Mister Krum . . . then Miss Delacour.

"But you'll all be in with a fighting chance I'm sure, depending how well you get past the obstacles. This should be fun, eh?"

Harry, who knew only too well the kind of creatures that Hagrid was likely to provide for an event like this (thinking of the skrewts), shook his head as he thought it was unlikely to be fun in his book. However, he nodded politely like the other champions, humouring Bagman.

"Very well. . . if none of you have any questions, we'll go back up to the castle, shall we, it's a bit chilly out here. …"

Bagman hurried alongside Harry as they began to wend their way out of the growing maze.


	17. The Third Task

**On Gabi's change, she's only half human, so it's like Sci-Fi stories like Species where children grow and develop into adults in a fraction of the time. As far as the decisions they make are concerned, it's the development that's significant, not the chronological age.**

 **Apologies, oh Sassy one, I've changed my mind again, Cissi's hooking up with Xeno now and Sirius misses out.**

 **Usual disclaimers, no rights to any characters portrayed and this is neither the real world nor a Disney Princess tale.**

A few weeks after the second task, they started getting information out of Dumbledore. Amelia had been visiting him to try and force the information that he'd been keeping secret out of him, and she said something that suddenly reminded him about what she'd said on the lake shore on the day of the second task…. Hermione Granger was Lady Potter? And if the French Noble and Ancient House of Flamel was included in the potential line theft charges she was talking about, that meant that Nicholas had given his name and everything else to that damned _Harry Potter_ instead of him!

Dumbledore demanded that Mr Potter come talk with him immediately, but Amelia's response was cut off by an amused whisper over the mirror from Harry when she went to tell the old fool that he was in no position to _demand_ anything! So she just nodded curtly and told him that she'd pass his request along to _Lord_ Potter. With that she stood, vanished the table and chairs that she'd conjured for the talk and popped away when Tally arrived to take her hand.

Half an hour later, Harry and Hermione popped in, wearing the full formal robes of House Potter, with their goblin guards in full ceremonial armour. With a rather obvious wave of the elder wand, Harry created an ornate table with two thrones and an ornate perch one one side, and one plain unpadded chair on the other, then handed Hermione into her throne before seating himself. Once he was settled with the Elder Wand placed prominently in his lap, he spoke for the first time, quietly saying. "Fawkes?" At that the phoenix flamed into existence inside the room and settled onto the perch beside him. After gently stroking her head and saying a few quiet words to her, he turned to Dumbledore. "I am told that you wished to speak with me, Mister Dumbledore?"

Dumbledore just stood there staring at the tableau in front of him with his mouth working. His gaze went from Harry, to Fawkes, to the Elder Wand and then the opulent setting he'd created over and over again with rage, despair and jealousy vying for dominance on his face.

After a few minutes of this, Harry turned to Hermione. "Didn't the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement tell us that he wanted to talk to us my lady?"

She struggled to avoid breaking out laughing. "Not exactly my lord, she actually said that he demanded to speak to _you_ , but yes, that was the gist of it."

"Why will he not speak then?"

"He appears to be overwrought about something my lord…..Perhaps it would be better for us to leave, someone can speak to him when he regains his faculties, presuming that he does…."

Harry nodded and went to stand, but that made Dumbledore find his voice. "No! Wait!….I need to know that truth of what Amelia Bones said, but why is my phoenix here?" Fawkes made an unmistakeably angry and threatening sound at that and Harry reached up to stroke her head and calm her.

His voice when he addressed Dumbledore was notably cooler. "Fawkes belongs to no-one! She is a sentient creature who chooses who she will assist. You were the lucky recipient of that assistance once, until you proved yourself to be irredeemably unworthy."

Dumbledore laughed at him. "What are you talking about, she? Fawkes is male!"

Harry's chuckle at that harmonised with Hermione's giggle. "Only inside your head Dumbledore, if you'd ever bothered to ask you'd know that all phoenix are female, just like our Veela friends. For that matter, if you had ever been worthy of a proper link with Fawkes she would have explained it to you." Fawkes leant in and rubbed her head on his shoulder at this.

His tone turned cool again. "You wanted to talk, so talk, or we'll be leaving!"

Dumbledore was affronted about being treated like this but realised that he'd get nothing if he didn't play along. "What was Bones saying about her being Lady Potter, and your being the head of the House of Flamel?"

Harry's tone chilled more. "Have a care how you refer to Lady Potter Dumbledore! You will refer to Madam Bones with respect as well!" He looked at Hermione and she smiled reassuringly at him before he turned back to Dumbledore.

"It would appear that you've fallen apart much more quickly than we expected if you've lost your faculties so soon. Be that as it may, not that it's any business of your's but Lady Hermione Jean Potter is my wife because we are now married. Count Nicholas Flamel made me his heir and gave me his name along with everything else when he passed over to the other side, so I now carry the title of Count Flamel title and am the Head of the French Noble and Ancient House of Flamel. Now, is there anything else that you wish to ask me about?" Speaking as though he was addressing a retarded child.

Dumbledore had hate in his eyes as he snarled. "You've stolen everything from me!"

Harry's gaze bore into him. "No-one took anything from you Dumbledore, you threw everything away because of your greed and delusions of power. Nicholas Flamel was disgusted when he learned how you had lied to him and wilfully put innocents at risk in your pursuit of fame, fortune and power. I never actually met the man, but I was told that he was ashamed that he'd associated with you for so long without seeing you for what you really were and what you were capable of. Apparently he decided that I was more worthy to lead the fight against the dark and changed his will to pass everything on to me to assist me in this once he realised what you are. Fawkes was having ever increasing problems with being involved in and supporting you in what you were doing, but she made her final decision to leave you after you tried to force her to take her to the Chamber so that you could claim the fortune that you had no right to…." He looked down at the wand in his lap. "The Elder Wand did not have the concerns of conscience that the others did, but its existence is governed by a code so when I defeated you while you were using it, it deemed you unworthy of being its master and changed its allegiance to me."

Harry had gone to Garrick Ollivander, as the foremost expert of wand lore in Britain, to find out about the wand, because he knew that something this powerful had to be known. Mister Ollivander had gone white when he examined the wand and realised what it was. He'd told Harry the story of the Elder Wand, and then told him that he needed to be obliviated of any memory of this, and Harry's other wand, because it was much too dangerous if anyone could wrest the information out of him. Harry had thanked him for everything, then Angela removed all trace of those memories from the wand maker.

He paused, and then waved his hand around the bare walls and chambers. "All this has been taken from you because of your own reprehensible actions. The main reason that you haven't been further punished as yet is that the Ministry of Magic believes that the Triwizard tournament will help recover the tarnished image of Magical Britain. If you keep opposing us, or try to do anything to derail the tournament in any way, we will give up on that and you will have your trial. Then it will only be a question of life in Azkaban, the dementor's kiss or the veil! If not for the fact that we know that you're keeping secrets that we believe may help us in the fight against Voldemort, we would have made the call to do so before this, and if you don't start talking soon we'll be following that path."

Deciding that he'd had enough at that, Harry stood, helped Hermione from her throne and bowed to Fawkes so that she took off and flamed out of the room. Then he vanished the table, thrones, perch and chair. As he was staring at Harry and Hermione, Dumbledore missed the elves popping in to grab the goblins and pop out again, so to his mind it looked as though Harry had removed all of them himself. The idea of him being able to do that terrified Dumbledore.

* * *

The months of being locked up in his chambers with nothing to do and no-one to talk to since then had done a good job of softening up someone with Dumbledore's ego and need for respect. Having his nose repeatedly rubbed in the fact that Hogwarts, the British Wizengamot and the International Confederation of Wizards were all doing much better without his meddling also helped that process along quite well.

With Dumbledore shaken and desperate for human interaction, Amelia, Angela, Harry and Hermione were now starting to get answers about what he knew about Voldemort, his Death Eaters and the horcruxes from him. He tried to dole it out in as small a pieces as he could in an attempt to get more visits, but they kept him in line by leaving him alone for a week or two if he tried to push too much. As the Elves didn't speak to him, Dumbledore was eager to make amends when this happened. He also told them which journals and pensieve memories related to the things he was telling them about, not at first perhaps, but after being left with his own thoughts for a while he began to talk.

Through this, they saw the Death Eater trials of ones such as Karkaroff and the Lestranges, but they also learned that Barty Crouch's son, Barty Crouch Junior, had also been a Death Eater, and they also learned that he had been involved in the torture of Neville's parents. They saw how Karkaroff had given up many other Death Eaters in an attempt to get himself off, and how it was it was the shock of Barty Crouch Jr's exposure that had done that. As a related issue, they saw Ludo Bagman's trial for working with the Death Eaters that Karkaroff gave up, which raised serious questions about how he managed to become a head of department in the Ministry of Magic after he'd admitted to his crimes there.

They also saw Dumbledore's memories of how Tom Riddle had been the star of Hogwarts when he was here, and how Dumbledore had done nothing to stop or expose him when there might have been a chance to do so. They were furious about this, but just added it the list of Dumbledore's crimes to be paid for. He did, however, give them leads on the other horcruxes, while he hadn't done anything about getting them out of Voldemort's hands, he had done quite a bit of research on them and had a good idea where some of them were, he had dug out clues to where the others might have gone as well.

While they were questioning him about this, Dumbledore's what he thought were sneaky looks at Harry's forehead made it obvious that he knew about the horcrux that had been embedded in Harry's scar, but the old bastard said nothing about it. He also didn't tell them the full prophecy, even though they had gotten that from his pensieve memories. In the middle of a debate that they were having about this, Hermione suddenly burst out swearing, as this was an unusual occurrence for her, to say the least, they waited for her to calm down a little and then asked what that had been about. "That old bastard is still planning on Harry getting killed by Voldemort, so he can step in to be the one who kills Voldemort and gets hailed as the saviour!"

That of course led to questions about how he was supposed to do that while they had him locked up, but she shook her head. "I don't know, he's probably so delusional that he believes that he'll be released to take his proper place again as soon as Harry's out of the way, but he's still trying to play us and that's the only scenario that makes any sense!"

No-one could argue with her logic, but while they wanted to confront the old bastard about it (and kill him for it), Harry, Amelia and Angela had to stop them. If they could get what Dumbledore knew out of him, they'd have a lot better chance of finding and destroying the horcruxes and defeating Voldemort and his followers, but the old bastard would most likely clam up if he knew that they were onto him, so they had to keep stringing him along until they'd defeated Voldemort.

* * *

They had another complication during the period when they were dragging the information out of Dumbledore, because Gabi had started the veela change early. Most veela went through the change when they reached puberty in their early teens, so they were generally enrolled at Beauxbatons as a child using their middle name and mother's maiden name to start their magical training and then left when the change came over them. Once they were through the change, they'd return to Beauxbatons as older girls under their proper names and finish their magical training.

No-one had a definitive answer as to why Gabi had started the change at ten, healers in the veela community believed that it was because of the ordeal of being attacked, stunned, abused and kidnapped to be stuck at the bottom of a freezing lake, while her grandmother shared her view with the family that it was at least partly due to being around Harry, Hermione and Fleur and the bond that they shared, but the fact remained that she did and that was a major concern.

After recently having their eyes opened to the dangers that Fleur was exposed to through the marriage laws of Magical Britain, and knowing that other wizards would also jump at the chance of trapping a veela into a marriage, her parents were terrified of what might happen to Gabi when she became physically and emotionally mature with veela allure at the age of ten. That was why, which Gabi's wholehearted agreement, they begged Harry to give her the same protections that he had Fleur once the change was finished.

While not something they wanted to think about, Harry and Hermione could understand what the Delacours were afraid of and that it was a very real risk, so they agreed, under the same terms as with the others. Given that she would not have the opportunity to spend the first two or three years at Beauxbatons learning magic as a 'normal' girl, Gabi was taught the basics that hadn't been covered at home and then joined the other younger girls in their lessons. Her parents weren't sure whether they wanted her to go to Beauxbatons after the change, because she would be alone there and they had now had had their eyes opened to a different and far more dangerous world, but she would have a better education in magic than most, they would make sure of that.

* * *

The mood in the castle as they moved into June became excited and tense again. Everyone was looking forward to the third task, which would take place a week before the end of term. Harry was practising when he could, but he felt more confident about this task than either of the others. Difficult and dangerous though it would undoubtedly be, he had managed to find his way past monstrous creatures and enchanted barriers before now, and this time he had had more notice to prepare himself for what lay ahead. More to the point, they had Dumbledore locked up now so he couldn't play his games any more, hopefully that would mean that there would be no terrible surprises this time.

When the morning of the third task arrived, the Great Hall was buzzing. They had brought in more goblin guards and trusted Aurors to ensure that everyone in the group was being watched and there weren't any more last minute snatchings, and Harry had started to relax when Professor McGonagall came to get him after breakfast to take him to the preparation chambers for his family time. Angela, Tonks and a goblin guard detail escorted Harry and Hermione to the chambers after he was given hugs and kisses for luck by the others. Harry didn't voice his preference for their family time to be in Potter Tower, because of the fact that this was supposed to be part of building the image for the tournament.

It was a surprise to see the 'family' that was waiting there for him, as it was Arthur and Bill Weasley, Xeno Lovegood, Narcissa Black, Sirius in his animagus form, his grandparents' magical portraits and the Head Goblin. Cedric had his parents there, Fleur had her parents and Gabi (as her slightly younger 'cousin') but Krum only had Karkaroff and the Coach of the Bulgarian National Quidditch team. Perhaps if he'd had actual family members there, they might have noticed something.

It wasn't lost on anyone that the Potter family and the Delacour family groups had merged into one, and they were all familiar with each other, even that obviously important goblin knew Potter, his girlfriend and the Senior Auror on his security detail, and apparently their big black dog that people heard them calling Snuffles too. Seeing Narcissa Malfoy there, using the name Narcissa Black and looking totally different and _happy_ for the first time that anyone could remember was quite an eye opener, as was the fact that she was obviously _with_ Xeno Lovegood.

Another thing that had tongues wagging was the _exuberance_ with which Harry was greeted by Fleur Delacour's cousin and Bill Weasley was greeted by the younger Auror on Harry's security detail. While gossip mongering at the Daily prophet may have been a thing of the past though, old fashioned gossip was still going strong, and word spread like wildfire, which created a painful incident for Narcissa.

Narcissa had taken the opportunity of being at Hogwarts to try and see her son, and luckily at Harry's insistence a couple of Aurors went with her to protect her. Unfortunately the stories about the fact that she was there with Harry's people _and_ that she was cosy with Xeno had already reached him before she saw him, so it wasn't the happy mother and son reunion that she had been hoping for. As soon as Draco saw his mother, he launched into a hateful diatribe at her, calling her a whore, accusing her of betraying his father, being a traitor to his family and much more.

The Aurors pushed her back behind them and cast shields when Draco grabbed his wand, telling him to stop, but they gave up worrying about harming him when he tried to cast a nasty evisceration curse at her and the force of the spells they cast to disarm him resulted in multiple broken bones and ruptured internal organs. She begged them not to charge him for what he did, so he was just sent to Madam Pomfrey to be healed, though it was only the healer's oaths that she'd taken which made her continue treating him after she found out what he'd done to end up in this state.

Narcissa was taken back to Potter Tower, where Sirius, Andromeda and Tonks made sure that she understood that it wasn't her fault that this had happened, the boy had been poisoned by his father and that was where the blame lay.

Needless to say, the happy mood of the morning was ruined, and Harry (and Fleur) went in to the final task angry. One of the things that came out of this was that they asked what fool decided that the task would start at dusk? Running a maze was hardly a spectator event anyway, but spells could have been cast to let the spectators see into the maze and watch the champions' progress, if there was any light to see by. Bagman said that the suggestion had come from Dumbledore, but when he was cleaned up and let out of his chambers to attend the task, he said that it had come from a comment from Alistor Moody that doing it in the dark would make it a more interesting contest for the champions. Moody said that he couldn't remember saying that but shrugged, adding that it would make it more of a challenge.

* * *

They brought the evening feast forward so that it would finish as the sun went down. Once again, Madame Maxime, Karkaroff, Bagman and Fudge were sitting on either side of Dumbledore, who looked as though he still believed that he was lord of all he surveyed. Madame Maxime looked nervous, but considering everything that had happened in this tournament, she had reason to be worried about what might happen to her student in the final task. Karkaroff looked angry, because he didn't hold much hope that Krum could defeat these other champions and he was being threatened with being arrested, questioned under Veritaserum and tried for what he did as a Death Eater, so he was trying to work out how he could get away.

Bagman looked quite cheerful, but then he'd obviously forgotten that he was on thin ice with the DMLE and everyone else, while Fudge looked extremely nervous, he may not be the brightest but he _was_ bright enough to know that he would be in serious trouble if even half of what he'd done ever came out, and he knew that Amelia Bones was determined to get to the bottom of things that he'd helped push through for Dumbledore. He didn't see her stopping looking when she finished with the tournament.

As the enchanted ceiling overhead began to fade from blue to a dusky purple, Dumbledore rose to his feet at the staff table, and silence fell.

"Ladies and gentlemen, in five minutes' time, I will be asking you to make your way down to the Quidditch field for the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament. Will the champions please follow Mr. Bagman down to the stadium now."

Harry got up. The Gryffindors all along the table were applauding him; the Weasleys and Hermione all wished him good luck, and he headed off out of the Great Hall with Cedric, Fleur, and Krum.

"Feeling all right. Harry?" Bagman asked as they went down the stone steps onto the grounds.

"Confident?"

"I'm okay," said Harry. That was true enough, he was nervous, but the knowledge that he was at least as capable as the other champions made him ready for this.

They walked onto the Quidditch field, which was now completely unrecognisable. A twenty foot high hedge ran all the way around the edge of it. There was a gap right in front of them, the entrance to the vast maze. The passage beyond it looked dark and creepy.

Five minutes later, the stands had begun to fill, the air was full of excited voices and the rumbling of feet as the hundreds of students and other spectators filed into their seats. The sky was a deep, clear blue now, and the first stars were starting to appear. Hagrid, Professor Moody, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Flitwick came walking into the stadium and approached Bagman and the champions. They were wearing large, red, luminous stars on their hats, except for Hagrid, who had his on his moleskin vest.

"We will be patrolling the outside of the maze," said Professor McGonagall to the champions. "If you get into difficulty, and wish to be rescued, send red sparks up into the air, and one of us will come and get you, do you understand?"

The champions nodded.

"Off you go, then!" said Bagman brightly to the four teachers.

"Good luck. Harry," Hagrid whispered, as the four of them walked away in different directions, to station themselves around the maze.

Bagman now pointed his wand at his throat, muttered, "Sonorus," and his magically magnified voice echoed into the stands.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! Let me remind you how the points currently stand! In first place, with ninety points, Mister Harry Potter. In second place, with eighty points, Mister Cedric Diggory of Hogwarts School!"

The cheers and applause at Cedric's name sent flocks of birds in the Forbidden Forest fluttering into the darkening sky.

"In third place, with seventy five points, Mister Viktor Krum, of Durmstrang Institute!"

There was more applause for the quidditch seeker.

"And in fourth place, with seventy three points, Miss Fleur Delacour, of Beauxbatons Academy!"

Fleur's many admirers cheered for her, and then they quietened down as the task began.

"So ... on my whistle Harry!" Bagman cried. "Three…. Two…. One…."

He gave a short blast on his whistle, and Harry hurried forward into the maze.

The towering hedges cast black shadows across the path, and, whether because they were so tall and thick or because they had been enchanted, the sound of the surrounding crowd was silenced the moment he entered the maze.

Harry transforming into his wolf form to see better in the dark as soon as he was out of sight. After about fifty yards, he reached a fork. He looked each way, and then took the left one.

Harry heard Bagman's whistle for the second time. Cedric had entered the maze. Harry sped up. His chosen path seemed completely deserted. He turned right and hurried on, trying to see as far ahead as possible. There was still nothing in sight.

Bagman's whistle blew in the distance for the third time, indicating that Krum had now entered the maze.

Just after that was the fourth whistle, so all of the champions were now inside.

Harry kept looking behind him. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. The maze was growing darker with every passing minute as the sky overhead deepened to navy. He reached a second fork, changing back to human form and getting his wand out.

"Point Me," he whispered to his wand, holding it flat in his palm.

The wand spun around once and pointed toward his right, into solid hedge. That way was north, and he knew that he needed to go northwest for the centre of the maze. The best he could do was to take the left fork and go right again as soon as possible.

The path ahead was empty too, and when Harry reached a right turn and took it, he again found his way unblocked. Harry didn't know why, but the lack of obstacles was unnerving him. Surely he should have met something by now?

It felt as though the maze was luring him into a false sense of security. Just then he heard movement right behind him. He spun around with his wand extended, ready to attack, but its beam only showed Cedric, who had just hurried out of a path on the right-hand side. Cedric looked rather shaken and the sleeve of his robe was smoking.

"Hagrid's Blast-Ended Skrewts!" he hissed. "They're enormous, I only just got away from them!"

He shook his head and dove out of sight, along another path. Not looking forward to running into the skrewts, Harry hurried off again. Then, as he turned a corner, he saw a dementor gliding toward him. Twelve feet tall, its face hidden by its hood, its rotting hands outstretched, it advanced, sensing its way blindly toward him. Harry could hear its rattling breath, he felt the clammy coldness stealing over him, but knew what he had to do.…

He summoned the happiest thought he could, concentrating on the thought of Hermione, raised his wand, and cried. "Expecto Patronum!"

A silver dire wolf launched from the end of Harry's wand and loped toward the dementor, which flickered. . . . Harry had never seen a dementor flicker.

"Hang on!" he shouted, advancing in the wake of his silver patronus, "You're not a dementor, you're a boggart! Riddikulus!"

There was a crack, and the boggart exploded in a wisp of smoke. The silver wolf faded from sight. Harry moved on, as quickly and quietly as possible, straining his ears to hear what was in front of him, with his wand held high.

Left ... right... left again . . . Twice he found himself facing dead ends. He did the Pointer spell again and found that he was going too far east. He turned back, took a right turn, and saw an odd golden mist floating ahead of him.

Harry approached it cautiously, pointing the wand's beam at it. This looked like as though it was one of the enchantments that they had to face. He wondered whether he might be able to blast it out of the way.

He sent a non-verbal "Reducto." at the mist.

The curse shot straight through the mist but the hole just closed up straight away, leaving it intact. He supposed he should have known better, the Reductor curse was for solid objects. He wondered what would happen if he walked through the mist though? Was it worth taking a chance, or should he double back? Just then he heard a woman's scream and another voice shouting. He'd no more thought that he had to get to Fleur to protect her when he popped into existence right next to her.

Krum was standing in front of them and sent another "Crucio!" at Fleur just as he arrived, so he hit him with a "Stupefy!" and "Incarcerous!". With Krum dealt with, he knelt down to help Fleur, then grabbed his wand again as someone else came crashing around a corner in the maze, but it was Cedric.

Fleur centred herself and used her healing powers to kick off the effects of the crucio curse, then Harry helped her to her feet. She told them that she'd come around a corner in the maze and Krum had been waiting for her, he cast the crucio curse at her before she could do anything. What confused her the most was that what he was shouting at her between cursing her didn't sound like him, it sounded more like what an Englishman would say…..

Harry looked grim. "Imperio!" Fleur looked at him, surprised, then nodded. "Oui, that is the only thing that makes sense, but why?"

They looked around, suddenly wondering who might be watching them and what they had planned. Harry answered her. "It looks like Dumbledore wasn't the only one who was playing games with this tournament…." His expression hardened. "But if they're that determined to stop us, I'm damned if I'm going to let them win! You should leave Fleur, they can't say that you haven't competed now, but I'm going to finish this damned thing!"

"Non! I'm fine and I'm not turning back! I'm going with you!" Harry nodded, and they looked at Cedric.

Cedric grinned. "Hey, I'm not pulling out now! If Hagrid's little beasties couldn't manage to cook me, I'm not going to give in to whatever other bastards think they can stop us!"

They all nodded at that and Harry sent up the red sparks to get someone to come and collect Krum, but they snapped his wand before they left, just to be safe.

With that, they turned to head back the way that Cedric came from. Unfortunately, after a few more turns they came up against a Blast Ended Skrewt, presumably the one that Cedric had tangled with earlier. Cedric was right, it was enormous. Ten feet long, it looked more like a giant scorpion than anything. Its long sting was curled over its back. Its armour glinted in the light from Harry's wand, which he pointed at it.

"Stupefy!"

The spell hit the skrewt's armor and rebounded, but they ducked just in time. The skrewt blew a blast of fire from its end and flew forward toward them.

"Impedimenta!" Harry yelled. The spell hit the skrewt's armor again and ricocheted off, Harry staggered back a few paces and fell over. "IMPEDIMENTA!"

The skrewt was inches from them when it froze, as he had managed to hit it on its fleshy, shell-less underside with the second charm. Panting, Harry pushed himself away from it, grabbed Fleur's hand and they and ran, as fast as they could in the opposite direction, because the impediment curse was not permanent, the skrewt would be moving again at any moment.

They took a left path and hit a dead end, a right, and hit another, forcing himself to stop, heart pounding, Harry performed the pointer spell again, backtracked, and chose a path that would take them northwest. After a few more turns, they were going along a relatively long, straight run, and he saw movement in front of him. When he increased the power of the lumos spell, his beam of wandlight hit an extraordinary creature, one which he had only seen in picture form, in his Monster Book of Monsters.

It was a sphinx. It had the body of an over-sized lion, with great clawed paws and a long tail ending in a tuft of fur. Its head, however, was that of a woman. She turned her long, almond-shaped eyes upon Harry as he approached. He raised his wand, hesitating. She was not crouching as if to spring, but moving from side to side of the path, blocking his progress. Then she spoke, in a deep, hoarse voice.

"You are very near your goal. The quickest way is past me."

"So ... so will you move, please?" Harry asked politely, knowing what the answer was going to be.

"No," she said, continuing to pace. "Not unless you can answer my riddle. Answer on your first guess, I will let you pass. Answer wrongly, I will attack. If you remain silent, I will let you walk away from me unscathed."

Harry's stomach clenched. It was Hermione who was good at this sort of thing, not him. He weighed his chances. If the riddle was too hard, he could keep silent, get away from the sphinx unharmed, and try and find an alternative route to the centre.

"Okay," he said. "May I hear the riddle?"

The sphinx sat down upon her hind legs, in the very middle of the path, and recited:

"First think of the person who lives in disguise,

Who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies.

Next, tell me what's always the last thing to mend,

The middle of middle and end of the end?

And finally give me the sound often heard

During the search for a hard-to-find word.

Now string them together, and answer me this,

Which creature would you be unwilling to kiss?"

Harry stared at her, not sure that he'd got it all in the state he was in.

"Could I have it again . . . more slowly please?" he asked tentatively.

She blinked at him, smiled, and repeated the poem. "All the clues add up to a creature I wouldn't want to kiss?" Harry asked.

She merely smiled her mysterious smile. Harry took that for a "yes."

Harry looked at the others, but they were looking as blank as he was so he cast his mind around. There were plenty of animals he wouldn't want to kiss; his immediate thought was a Blast-Ended Skrewt, but something told him that wasn't the answer. He'd have to try and work out the clues...

"A person in disguise," Harry muttered, staring at her, "who lies ... er ... that'd be a - an impostor. No, that's not my guess! A - a spy? I'll come back to that. . . could you give me the next clue again, please?"

She repeated the next lines of the poem.

"'The last thing to mend,'" Harry repeated. "Er ... no idea . . . 'middle of middle' . . . could I have the last bit again please?"

She gave him the last four lines.

"'The sound often heard during the search for a hard-to-find word,'" said Harry. "Er . . . that'd be ... er ... hang on - 'er'! Er's a sound!"

The sphinx smiled at him.

"Spy ... er ... spy ... er ..." said Harry, pacing up and down. "A creature I wouldn't want to kiss . . . a spider!"

The sphinx smiled more broadly. She got up, stretched her front legs and then bowing to him, moved aside to let them pass.

Harry said "Thank you", bowed to her and led the others past the sphinx.

They had to be close now, they had to be. ... His wand was telling him he was on course, as long as they didn't meet anything too horrible, they should be OK. . . .

They had a choice of paths up ahead, so Harry whispered. "Point Me!" again to his wand, and it spun around and pointed him to the right-hand one. They dashed up this one and saw light ahead.

The Triwizard Cup was gleaming on a plinth on the other side of the opening and they moved forward in a line, Harry in the middle, Cedric to the left and Fleur on his right. Harry suddenly saw something immense coming over a hedge to his left, moving quickly on a path that intersected with their own, but Cedric, with his eyes on the cup, had not seen it.

"Cedric!" Harry yelled. "On your left!"

Cedric looked around just in time to hurl himself out of its way but in his haste, he tripped. Harry saw his wand fly out of his hand as a gigantic spider turned and began to bear down upon Cedric.

"Stupefy!" Harry yelled. The spell hit the spider's gigantic, hairy black body, but for all the good it did, he might as well have thrown a rock at it, the spider jerked, scuttled around, and then ran at Harry instead.

"Stupefy! Impedimenta! Stupefy!"

But it was no use - the spider was either so large, or so magical, that the spells were doing no more than aggravating it. Harry had one horrifying glimpse of eight shining black eyes and razor-sharp pincers before it was upon him.

He was lifted into the air in its front legs, struggling madly, he tried to kick it, his leg connected with the pincers and next moment he was in excruciating pain. He could hear Cedric yelling "Stupefy!" too, but his spell had no more effect than Harry's. Then Fleur started throwing veela fireballs at the spider, that worked and made the spider drop him, but that meant that Harry fell twelve feet onto his already injured leg, which crumpled beneath him. Without pausing to think, he aimed high at the spider's underbelly, as he had done with the skrewt, and shouted "Stupefy!''just as Cedric and Fleur yelled the same thing.

The three spells combined did what one alone had not. The spider keeled over sideways, knocking a hole in the nearest hedge, and ended up in a tangle of hairy legs.

"Harry!" he heard Cedric and Fleur shouting. "You all right? Did it fall on you?"

"No," Harry called back, panting. He looked down at his leg. It was bleeding freely. He could also see some sort of thick, gluey secretion from the spider's pincers on his torn robes. He tried to get up, but his leg was shaking badly and did not want to support his weight. Fleur came to help him and he leaned against her, gasping for breath, as he looked around.

Cedric was standing feet from the Triwizard Cup, which was gleaming behind him.

"Take it, then," Harry panted to Cedric. "Go on, take it. You're there."

But Cedric didn't move. He merely stood there, looking at Harry. Then he turned to stare at the cup. Harry saw the longing expression on his face in its golden light. Cedric looked around at Harry again, who was now holding onto Fleur to support himself. Cedric took a deep breath. "You take it. You should win. You saved my neck here."

"That's not how it's supposed to work," Harry said. He was angry, the pain in his leg was excruciating and he was aching all over from trying to fight the spider.

"The one who reaches the cup first gets the points. That's you, you're right there."

Cedric looked at the two of them and took a few paces nearer to the Stunned spider, away from the cup, shaking his head.

"No," he said.

"Stop being noble," Harry looked at Fleur and she nodded, knowing what he was asking. "Just take it, then we can get out of here."

Cedric watched Harry steadying himself, holding tight to Fleur.

"You told me about the dragons," Cedric said. "I would've had it in the first task if you hadn't told me what was coming."

"I had help on that too," Harry snapped, trying to staunch the bleeding in his leg with his robes. "You helped me with the egg, we're square."

"I had help on the egg in the first place," said Cedric.

"We're still square," said Harry, testing his leg gingerly, it shook violently as he put weight on it because he had sprained his ankle when the spider dropped him.

"Just take the cup!"

"No," said Cedric.

He stepped over the spider's tangled legs to come and join Harry and Fleur, who stared at him. Cedric was determined, he knew he was walking away from the sort of glory Hufflepuff House hadn't had in centuries, but in his heart he knew that it wasn't right to take this victory.

"Go on," Cedric said. He looked as though this was costing him every ounce of resolve he had, but his face was set, his arms were folded, he seemed decided.

Harry looked from Cedric to the cup, and back at Cedric's shadowy, stubborn face.

"All of us," Harry said.

"What?"

"We'll take it at the same time. We'll make it a tie."

Cedric looked from Harry to Fleur. He unfolded his arms, doubtful.

"Are... are you sure?"

Harry looked at Fleur and they both nodded.

"Yeah," said Harry. "Yeah . . . we've helped each other out, haven't we? We all got here. Let's just take it together."

For a moment, Cedric looked as though he couldn't believe his ears, then his face split in a grin.

"You're on," he said. "Come on."

He took Harry's arm on the other side from Fleur and helped Harry limp toward the plinth where the cup stood. When they had reached it, they each held a hand out over one of the cup's gleaming handles.

"On three, right?" said Harry. "One... two... three!"

He and Fleur grabbed one handle while Cedric grabbed the other.

* * *

Instantly, Harry felt a jerk somewhere behind his navel. His feet had left the ground. He could not unclench the hand holding the Triwizard Cup. It was pulling him onward in a howl of wind and swirling colour, Fleur and Cedric at his side.

Harry felt his feet slam into the ground; his injured leg gave way, and he fell forward, his hand letting go of the Triwizard Cup at last. He raised his head.

"Where are we?" he said.

Cedric shook his head. He got up, pulled Harry to his feet and offering a hand to Fleur, then they looked around.

They had obviously left the Hogwarts grounds and had travelled quite a few miles... perhaps hundreds of miles, because even the mountains surrounding the castle were gone. They were standing in a dark and overgrown graveyard, the black outline of a small church was visible beyond a large yew tree to their right. A hill rose above them to their left. Harry could just make out the outline of a fine old house up on the hillside.

Cedric looked down at the Triwizard Cup and then up at the others.

"Did anyone tell you the cup was a Portkey?" he asked.

"Nope!" said Harry as Fleur shook her head "Non!" Harry was looking around the graveyard. It was completely silent and rather eerie.

He asked "Do you think this could be part of the task?" half as a joke.

Fleur looked extremely dubious and Cedric's answer was. "I dunno," He sounded nervous. "Wands out, d'you reckon?"

"Yeah!" said Harry, glad that he wasn't the only one thinking that way.

They pulled out their wands. Harry kept looking around him. He had, yet again, the strange feeling that they were being watched.

"Someone's coming," he said suddenly.

Squinting tensely into the darkness, they watched the figure walking steadily toward them between the graves. Harry couldn't make out their face, but from the way it was walking and holding its arms, he could tell that it was carrying something. Whoever it was, he was short, and wearing a hooded cloak pulled up over his head to hide his face. As the gap between them closed and the figure became clearer, Harry could see that the thing in it's arms looked like a baby ... or was it just a bundle of robes?

Harry lowered his wand slightly and glanced sideways at the others. Cedric shot him a quizzical look.

They looked around the graveyard to see if this figure was trying to distract them, but they couldn't see anyone else so they turned back to watch the approaching figure.

It stopped beside a towering marble headstone that was only about ten feet from them. For a second. Harry, Fleur and Cedric and the short figure simply looked at one another.

And then, without warning, Harry felt something similar to the pain he'd felt through the scar when he was facing Voldemort. The pain was enough to make him squeeze his eyes shut as he almost collapsed. He felt Fleur grabbing him to stop him falling and then from far away, he heard a high, cold voice say, "Kill the spares!"

At that, a second voice shouted. "Avada Kedavra!"

A blast of green light blazed through Harry's eyelids and the headstone they were standing beside exploded.

Harry was almost knocked out in the explosion, but when he managed to force his stinging eyes open and look about in a daze, he saw Cedric lying spread-eagled on the ground beside him, dead. For what seemed an eternity, Harry stared into Cedric's face, seeing his open eyes, as empty as the windows of a deserted house, his half-open mouth and surprised expression. He could also see Fleur's legs poking out from behind the remains of the headstone. Then, before Harry's battered brain could process what he was seeing, before he could feel anything but numb disbelief, he felt himself being dragged to his feet.

The short man in the cloak had put down his bundle, lit his wand, and was now dragging Harry toward a marble headstone. Harry saw the name upon it flickering in the wandlight but wasn't able to read it before he was forced around and slammed up against it.

The cloaked man used the Incarcerous spell to secure Harry from neck to ankle to the headstone. Harry could hear his shallow, fast breathing from the depths of the hood. When he struggled, the man hit him, with a hand that had one finger missing. That was when Harry realised who it was under the hood. Wormtail!

"You!" he gasped.

Wormtail did not reply as he finished conjuring the ropes, because he was busy checking the tightness of the cords, his fingers trembling uncontrollably as they fumbled over the restraints. Once he was sure that Harry was secured so tightly that he couldn't move an inch, Wormtail took some black material from inside his cloak and stuffed it roughly into Harry's mouth. Then, still without a word, he turned and hurried away. Harry couldn't make a sound, nor could he see where Wormtail had gone. He couldn't turn his head to see behind the headstone, he could see only what was in front of him.

Harry was still dazed from the explosion, but he could see Cedric's body lying about twenty feet away. A little way beyond him, glinting in the starlight, was the Triwizard Cup. Harry could see his wand was on the ground at Cedric's feet, but he suddenly had hope, because he could see that Fleur's legs were moving.

The bundle of robes that Harry had thought was a baby lay at the foot of the grave he was now tied to. It seemed to be stirring fretfully. As Harry was watching it, the pain in his scar suddenly flared up again . . . and he suddenly realised that he didn't want to know what was in those robes ... he didn't want that bundle opened.…

He could hear other noises at his feet. When he looked down, he saw a gigantic snake slithering through the grass, circling the headstone he was tied to. Wormtail's fast, wheezing breathing was growing louder again. It sounded as though he was forcing something very heavy across the ground. Then he came back into sight, and Harry saw that he was pushing a stone cauldron to the foot of the grave. It was full of something that was sloshing around, and it was larger than any cauldron Harry had ever used, a great stone belly large enough for a full grown man to sit in.

The thing inside the bundle of robes on the ground was stirring more persistently now, as though it was trying to free itself. Now Wormtail was busying himself at the bottom of the cauldron with a wand. Suddenly there were crackling flames beneath it. The snake slithered away into the darkness at that point.

Whatever the liquid in the cauldron was, it seemed to be heating up quickly. The surface began not only to bubble, but to throw out fiery sparks, as though it were on fire. The steam was thickening, blurring the outline of Wormtail tending the fire. The bundle of robes became more agitated and Harry heard that high, cold voice again.

"Hurry!"

The whole surface of the water was alight with sparks now.

"It is ready. Master."

"Now!" said the cold voice.

Wormtail pulled open the robes on the ground, revealing what was inside them, and Harry let out a yell that was strangled by the wad of material blocking his mouth.

What was shown when Wormtail pulled the robes away was many times worse than any ugly, slimy, disgusting thing that you'd find under a rock. The thing Wormtail had been carrying in the bundle had the shape of a human baby, except that Harry had never seen anything like it. Its skin was hairless and scaly-looking, and a dark, raw, reddish black colour. Its arms and legs were thin and feeble, and its face, no child alive ever could have had a face like that. It was flat and snakelike, with gleaming red eyes.

The thing seemed almost helpless, it raised its thin arms, put them around Wormtail's neck, and Wormtail lifted it. As he did so, his hood fell back, and Harry caught the look of revulsion on Wormtail's weak, pale face in the firelight as he carried the creature to the cauldron.

For one moment, Harry saw that evil, flat face illuminated in the sparks dancing on the surface of the potion, and then Wormtail lowered the creature into the cauldron. There was a hiss, and it vanished below the surface, Harry heard its frail body hit the bottom with a soft thud. 'Let it drown', Harry thought, his scar burning, 'Please. . . let it drown!'

Wormtail was speaking. His voice shook, he seemed frightened out of his wits. He raised his wand, closed his eyes, and spoke into the night.

"Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son!"

The surface of the grave at Harry's feet cracked open. Horrified, Harry watched as a fine trickle of dust rose into the air at Wormtail's command, arched over to the cauldron and fell softly into it. The sparkling surface of the water broke and hissed, sending sparks in all directions and turned a vivid, poisonous-looking blue.

And now Wormtail was whimpering. He pulled a long, thin, shining silver dagger from inside his cloak. His voice broke into petrified sobs.

"Flesh…. of the servant…. w-willingly given... you will... revive... your master. "

He stretched his right hand out in front of him, the hand with the missing finger. He gripped the dagger very tightly in his left hand and swung it down.

Harry realized what Wormtail was about to do a second before it happened, he closed his eyes but he could not block the scream that pierced the night. He heard something fall to the ground, heard Wormtail's anguished panting, then a splash, as something had been dropped into the cauldron. Harry didn't want to look . . . but the potion had turned a burning red. . . .he closed his eyes again...

Wormtail was gasping and moaning with agony. But not until Harry felt Wormtail's foetid breath on his face did he realise that he was right in front of him.

"B-blood of the enemy . . . forcibly taken .. . you will. . . resurrect your foe."

Harry could do nothing to stop him, he was tied too tightly and still half dazed. . .. Looking down as he struggled hopelessly at the ropes binding him, he saw the shining silver dagger shaking in Wormtails remaining hand. He felt its point penetrate the crook of his right arm and blood seeping down the sleeve of his torn robes. Wormtail, still huffing with pain, fumbled in his pocket for a glass vial and held it to Harry's cut, so that a dribble of blood fell into it.

He staggered back to the cauldron with Harry's blood. He poured it inside. The liquid within turned, instantly, a blinding white. Wormtail, his job now done, dropped to his knees beside the cauldron, then slumped sideways and lay on the ground, cradling the bleeding stump of his arm, gasping and sobbing.

The cauldron was shimmering, sending its diamond bright sparks in all directions, so blindingly bright that it turned all else to velvety blackness. Nothing happened. . . .

'Let it have drowned.' Harry thought, 'Let the rite have gone wrong. . .'

Suddenly, the sparks emanating from the cauldron were extinguished. A huge surge of white steam began to billow thickly from the cauldron instead, obliterating everything in front of Harry, so that he couldn't see Wormtail or Cedric or anything but vapor hanging in the air. ..Harry kept up his plea. 'It's gone wrong', he thought. . . 'it's drowned. .. please . . . please let it be dead. …'

But then, through the mist in front of him, he saw, with an icy surge of terror, the dark outline of a man, tall and skeletally thin, rising slowly from inside the cauldron.

"Robe me," said the high, cold voice from behind the steam, and Wormtail, sobbing and moaning, still cradling his bleeding stump, scrambled to pick up the black robes from the ground, got to his feet, reached up, and pulled them one-handed over his master's head.

The thin man stepped out of the cauldron, staring at Harry . . . and Harry stared back into the face that had haunted his nightmares for two years. Whiter than a skull, with wide, livid scarlet eyes and a nose that was flat as a snakes with slits for nostrils . . . Lord Voldemort had risen again.


	18. Dark Lord Reborn

**Sorry about where the last chapter cut off, but I'd gotten to over 15,000 words and it was the only logical place to split it.**

 **On Cedric, unfortunately he doesn't seem to have any unique qualities or abilities which make it viable to re-write the core storyline enough for him to have a significant life, but there are so many ways that his death can be a catalyst for the story.**

 **Usual disclaimers, no rights to any characters portrayed and this is neither the real world nor a Disney Princess tale.**

Voldemort looked away from Harry and began examining his own body. His hands were like large, pale spiders as his long white fingers caressed his own chest, his arms, his face. Those red eyes, whose pupils were slits, gleamed like a cat's in the darkness. He held up his hands and flexed the fingers, his expression rapt and exultant. He took no notice of Wormtail, who lay twitching and bleeding on the ground, nor of the great snake, which had now slithered back into sight and was circling them again, hissing.

Voldemort slipped one of those unnaturally long-fingered hands deep into a pocket in his robe and drew out the wand that Wormtail had placed there. He caressed this wand gently, and then raised it, pointing it at Wormtail, who was lifted off the ground and then thrown against the side of the headstone where Harry was tied. Wormtail fell to the foot of it and lay there, crumpled up and whimpering.

Voldemort turned his scarlet eyes upon Harry, laughing a high, cold, mirthless laugh.

Wormtail's robes were shining with blood now because he had wrapped the stump of his arm in them.

"My Lord . . ." he choked, "my Lord . . . you promised . . . you did promise …"

"Hold out your arm," said Voldemort lazily.

"Oh Master . . . thank you, Master …"

He extended the bleeding stump, but Voldemort laughed again.

"Not that one Wormtail, the other arm."

"Master, please . . .please …"

Voldemort bent down and grabbed Wormtail's left arm, pulling it out straight he forced the sleeve of Wormtail's robes up past his elbow and Harry saw what appeared to be a vivid red tattoo on the skin there, a skull with a snake protruding from its mouth. Harry realised that this was the same image that had appeared in the sky at the Quidditch World Cup, Voldemort's Dark Mark. Voldemort examined it carefully, ignoring Wormtail's weeping.

"Yesss, it has reacted to my return," he said softly, "they will all have noticed it... and now, we shall see ... now we shall know …"

He pressed his long white forefinger into the brand on Wormtail's arm.

The scar on Harry's forehead seared with a sharp pain again, and Wormtail let out a fresh howl.

Voldemort removed his finger from Wormtail's mark, and Harry saw that it had turned jet black.

With a look of cruel satisfaction on his face, Voldemort straightened up, threw back his head, and stared around at the dark graveyard.

"How many will be brave enough to return when they feel the summons?" he whispered, his gleaming red eyes fixed upon the stars. "And how many will be foolish enough to refuse me?"

He began to pace up and down before Harry and Wormtail, eyes sweeping the graveyard all the while.

After a minute or so, he looked down at Harry again, a cruel smile twisting his snakelike face.

"You stand, Harry Potter, upon the remains of my late father." he hissed softly. "A Muggle and a fool. . . very like your own dear mother. But they both had their uses, did they not? Your mother died to defend you as a child . . . and I killed my father, you have seen how useful he has proved himself, in death. …"

Voldemort laughed again. Up and down he paced, looking all around him as he walked, and the snake continued to circle in the grass.

"You see that house up on the hillside, Potter? My father lived there. My mother, a witch who lived here in this village, fell in love with him. But he abandoned her when she told him what she was. ... He didn't like magic, my father…."

"He left her and returned to his Muggle parents before I was even born. Potter, and she died giving birth to me, leaving me to be raised in a Muggle orphanage . . . but I vowed to find him and I did... I revenged myself upon him, that fool who gave me his name . . . Tom Riddle. . . ."

Still he paced, his red eyes darting from grave to grave.

"Listen to me, reliving family history . . ." he said quietly, "why, I am growing quite sentimental. . . . But look, Harry! My true family returns. . . ."

* * *

The air suddenly resounded with the cracks of apparations. Wizards were appearing between the graves in hooded robes and masks. And one by one they moved forward . . . slowly, cautiously, with more fear than awe for their master evident. Voldemort stood in silence, waiting for them.

Then one of the Death Eaters fell to his knees, crawled toward Voldemort and kissed the hem of his black robes.

"Master . . . Master" he murmured.

The Death Eaters behind him did the same; each of them approaching Voldemort on his knees and kissing his robes, before backing away and standing up, forming a silent circle which enclosed Tom Riddle's grave, Harry, Voldemort, and the whimpering, twitching heap that was Wormtail. Yet they left gaps in the circle, as though waiting for more people. Voldemort did not appear to expect more and yet seemed angry that there weren't. He looked slowly around at the masked and hooded figures, and though there was no wind, a rustling seemed to run around the circle at that, as though they had shivered.

"Welcome, my Death Eaters," said Voldemort quietly. "Twelve years. . . twelve years it has been since last we met. Yet you answer my call as though it were yesterday, we are still united under the Dark Mark, then! Or are we?"

He put back his terrible face and sniffed, his slit-like nostrils widening.

"I smell guilt," he said. "There is a stench of guilt upon the air."

A second shiver ran around the circle, as though each of them wanted to, but did not dare to, step back from him.

"I see you all, whole and healthy, with your powers intact, as shown by your prompt appearances! and I ask myself . . . why did this band of wizards never come to the aid of their master, to whom they swore eternal loyalty, and where are the rest of them?"

No one spoke. No one moved except Wormtail, who was upon the ground, still sobbing over his bleeding arm.

"And I answer myself," whispered Voldemort, "they must have believed me broken, they thought me gone. They have slipped back among my enemies, and they pleaded innocence, and ignorance, and bewitchment. . . ."

"And then I ask myself, but how could they have doubted that I would rise again? They, who knew the steps I took, long ago, to guard myself against mortal death? Have they not seen proofs of the immensity of my power in the times when I was mightier than any wizard living?"

"And I answer myself, perhaps they believed that a still greater power could exist, one that could vanquish even the great Lord Voldemort. . . perhaps they now bow to another . . . perhaps that great champion of commoners, of mudbloods and muggles, Albus Dumbledore?"

At the mention of Dumbledore's name, the members of the circle stirred, and some muttered and shook their heads. Voldemort ignored them.

"It is a disappointment to me ... I confess myself disappointed. . . ."

One of the men suddenly flung himself forward, breaking the circle. Trembling from head to foot, he collapsed at Voldemort's feet.

"Master!" he shrieked, "Master, forgive me! Forgive us all!"

Voldemort began to laugh. He raised his wand.

"Crucio!"

The Death Eater on the ground writhed and shrieked in agony. Harry was sure the sound must have carried to the houses around. . . . 'Let someone come', he thought desperately . . . 'anyone ... anything. . .'

Voldemort raised his wand. The tortured Death Eater lay flat upon the ground, gasping.

"Get up, Avery." said Voldemort softly. "Stand up. You ask me for forgiveness? No. I do not forgive. I do not forget. For twelve long years I was abandoned... I want those twelve years repaid before I forgive you. Wormtail here has paid some of his debt already, have you not, Wormtail?"

He looked down at Wormtail, who continued to sob.

"You returned to me, but not out of loyalty, it was out of fear of your old friends. You deserve this pain, Wormtail. You know that, don't you?"

"Yes, Master," moaned Wormtail, "please. Master . . . please …"

"Yet you helped return me to my body," said Voldemort coldly, watching Wormtail sob on the ground.

"Worthless and traitorous as you are, you helped me ... and Lord Voldemort rewards those who help him..."

Voldemort raised his wand again and whirled it through the air. A thread of what appeared to be molten silver hung shining in the wand's wake and it combined into a solid form. Shapeless at first, this writhed and then formed itself into a gleaming replica of a human hand, bright in the moonlight, which soared downward and fixed itself upon Wormtails bleeding wrist.

Wormtail's sobbing stopped abruptly then. His breathing harsh and ragged, he raised his head and stared in disbelief at the silver hand, now attached seamlessly to his arm, as though he were wearing a dazzling glove. He flexed the shining fingers, then, trembling, picked up a small twig on the ground and crushed it into powder.

"My Lord," he whispered. "Master ... it is beautiful. . . thank you... thank you. …"

He scrambled forward on his knees and kissed the hem of Voldemort's robes.

"May your loyalty never waver again, Wormtail," said Voldemort.

"No, my Lord . . . never, my Lord . . ."

Wormtail stood up and took his place in the circle, staring at his powerful new hand, his face still shining with tears. Voldemort now approached the man on Wormtail's right.

"Corban, my slippery friend," he whispered, halting before him. "I am told that you have not renounced the old ways, though to the world you hid behind a respectable face. You are still ready to take the lead in a spot of Muggle-torture, I believe? And yet you never tried to find me, Corban. . . . Your exploits at the Quidditch World Cup were fun, I dare say. . . but might not your energies have been better directed toward finding and aiding your master?"

"My Lord, I watched and waited for your return," came Corban Yaxley's voice from beneath the hood. "Had there been any sign from you, any whisper of your whereabouts, I would have been at your side immediately, nothing could have prevented me…..."

"And yet you ran from my Mark, when a faithful Death Eater sent it into the sky last summer?" said Voldemort lazily, and Yaxley stopped talking abruptly. "Oh yes, I know all about that Corban... You have disappointed me. ... I will expect more faithful service in the future."

"Of course, my Lord, of course. . . . You are merciful, thank you. …"

Voldemort moved on, and stopped, staring at the space - large enough for three people - that separated Yaxley and the next man.

"The Lestranges should stand here," said Voldemort quietly. "But they are imprisoned in Azkaban. They were faithful. They went to Azkaban rather than renounce me. . . . When Azkaban is broken open and they are returned to their rightful place by my side they will be rewarded, the Lestranges will be honoured beyond their dreams. The dementors will join us ... they are our natural allies ... we will recall the banished giants ... I shall have all my devoted servants returned to me, and an army of creatures whom all will fear to reclaim what is mine. …"

He walked on. Some of the Death Eaters he passed in silence, but he paused before others and spoke to them.

"And here" Voldemort had moved on to the two largest hooded figures. "we have Crabbe . . . you will do better this time, will you not, Crabbe? And you, Goyle?"

They bowed clumsily, muttering dully.

"Yes, Master …"

"We will, Master.…"

"The same goes for you, Nott," said Voldemort quietly as he walked past a stooped figure in Goyle's shadow.

"My Lord, I prostrate myself before you, I am your most faithful."

"That will do." Voldemort said coldly.

He had reached the largest gap of all, and he stood surveying it with his blank, red eyes, as though he could see people standing there.

"Here we have another six missing Death Eaters . . . three dead in my service. One was too cowardly to return ... he will pay. One, who I believe has left me forever ... so he will have to die, of course ... and one, who remains my most faithful servant, and who has already re-entered my service."

The Death Eaters stirred at that, and Harry saw their eyes dart sideways at one another through their masks.

"He is at Hogwarts, my faithful servant, and it was through his efforts that our young friend was brought here to us tonight. . . ."

"Yes," said Voldemort, a cold smile curling his lipless mouth as the eyes of the circle flashed in Harry's direction. "Harry Potter has kindly joined us for my rebirthing party. One might even go so far as to call him my guest of honour."

There was a silence. Then the Death Eater to the right of Wormtail stepped forward, and Corban Yaxley's voice spoke from under the mask.

"Master, we crave to know ... we beg you to tell us... how you have achieved this... this miracle…. how you managed to return to us…."

"Ah, what a story it is, Corban…." Voldemort replied. "It begins - and ends - with my young friend here."

He walked lazily over to stand next to Harry, so that the eyes of the whole circle were upon the two of them. The snake continued to circle.

"You know, of course, that they have called this boy my downfall?" Voldemort said softly, his red eyes upon Harry, whose scar began to burn again. "You all know that on the night when I lost my powers and my body, I tried to kill him. His mother died in the attempt to save him, and unwittingly provided him with a protection I admit I had not foreseen... I could not touch the boy."

Voldemort raised one of his long white fingers and put it very close to Harry's cheek.

"His mother left upon him the traces of another sacrifice. . . . This is old magic, I should have remembered it, I was foolish to overlook it... but no matter. I can touch him now."

Harry felt the cold tip of that white finger touch him, and thought his head would burst with the pain. Voldemort laughed softly in his ear, then took the finger away and continued addressing the Death Eaters.

"I miscalculated, my friends, I admit it. My curse was deflected by the woman's foolish sacrifice, and it rebounded upon myself. Aaah . . . pain beyond pain, my friends, nothing could have prepared me for it. I was ripped from my body, I was less than spirit, less than the meanest ghost. . . but still, I was alive. What I was, even I do not know... I, who have gone further than anybody along the path that leads to immortality. You know my goal, to conquer death. And now, I was tested, and it appeared that one or more of my experiments had worked ... for I had not been killed, though the curse should have done it. Nevertheless, I was as powerless as the weakest creature alive, and without the means to help myself... for I had no body, and every spell that might have helped me required the use of a wand. . . ."

"I remember only forcing myself endlessly, sleeplessly, minute by minute, to exist. ... I settled in a faraway place, in a forest, and I waited for that help. . . . Surely, one of my faithful Death Eaters would try and find me. . . one of them would come and perform the magic I could not, to restore me to a body…. but I waited in vain. …"

The shiver ran once more around the circle of listening Death Eaters. Voldemort let the silence build horribly before continuing.

"Only one power remained to me. I could possess the bodies of other creatures. But I dared not go where other humans were plentiful, for I knew that the Aurors were still abroad and searching for me. I sometimes inhabited animals, snakes, of course, being my preference. But I was little better off inside them than as pure spirit, for their bodies were not suited to performing magic . . . and my possession of them shortened their lives, none of them lasted long…. Yet, they made my existence easier so I used them."

"Then . . . three years ago . . . it seemed that I had found the means for my return. A wizard, young, gullible, no match for me of course, wandered into the forest I had made my home. Oh, he seemed to offer the very chance I had been dreaming of... because he was in fact a teacher at Dumbledore's school... and he was easy to bend to my will... he brought me back to this country, and after a while, I took full possession of his body, in order to supervise him more closely as he carried out my orders. But my plan failed. I did not manage to steal the Philosopher's Stone. I was not to be assured immortal life. I was thwarted . . . thwarted, once again, by Harry Potter. …"

Silence reigned, nothing was stirring, not even the leaves on the yew tree. The Death Eaters were quite motionless, the glittering eyes in their masks fixed upon Voldemort, and upon Harry.

"That servant died when I left his body, and I was left as weak as ever I had been," Voldemort continued. "I returned to my hiding place far away, and I will not pretend to you that I didn't then fear that I might never regain my powers. . . . Yes, that was perhaps my darkest hour... I could not hope that I would be sent another wizard to possess . . . and I had given up hope, by now, that any of my Death Eaters cared what had become of me. …"

One or two of the masked wizards in the circle moved uncomfortably, but Voldemort took no notice.

"And then, not even a year ago, when I had almost abandoned all hope, it happened at last... one of my servants returned to me. Wormtail here, who had faked his own death to escape justice, was driven out of hiding by those he had once counted friends, and decided to return to his master. He sought me in the country where it had long been rumoured I was hiding . . . helped, of course, by the rats he met along the way. Wormtail does have a curious affinity with rats, do you not, Wormtail? His filthy little friends told him there was a place, deep in an Albanian forest, that they avoided, where small animals like themselves had met their deaths by a dark shadow that possessed them. . . ."

"But his journey back to me was not smooth, was it, Wormtail? For, hungry one night, on the edge of the very forest where he had hoped to find me, he foolishly stopped at an inn for some food ... and who should he meet there, but one Bertha Jorkins, a witch from the Ministry of Magic."

"Now see the way that fate favours Lord Voldemort. This might have been the end of poor Wormtail, and of my last hope for regeneration. But Wormtail, displaying a presence of mind I would never have expected from him, convinced Bertha Jorkins to accompany him on a night-time stroll. He overpowered her ... and he brought her to me. And Bertha Jorkins, who might have ruined all, proved instead to be a gift beyond my wildest dreams ... because, with a little persuasion - she became a veritable mine of information. Bertha Jorkins had a wealth of secrets hidden behind memory charms that had been set on her by one of the scions of righteousness, Bartemius Crouch himself, to hide them from our world."

"She told me that the Triwizard Tournament had been brought back and would be played at Hogwarts this year. She told me of the existence of a faithful Death Eater who would be only too willing to help me, if I could only contact him. She told me a great many things. . . but the means I used to break the strength of the memory charms set upon her were too powerful, and after I had extracted all useful information from her, her mind and body were both damaged beyond repair. She had now served her purpose. As I could not possess her, I disposed of her."

Voldemort smiled his terrible smile as he looked at Nagini, his red eyes blank and pitiless.

"Wormtail's body, of course, was ill adapted for such a possession, as all assumed him dead, and he would attract far too much attention if noticed. However, he was the able-bodied servant I needed, and, poor wizard though he is, Wormtail was at least able to follow the instructions I gave him, to return me to a rudimentary, weak body of my own, a body I would be able to inhabit while awaiting the essential ingredients for true rebirth ... so with a spell or two of my own invention … a little help from my dear Nagini," Voldemorts red eyes fell upon the continually circling snake again. "a potion concocted from unicorn blood, and the venom that Nagini provided ... I was soon returned to an almost human form, one that was strong enough to travel."

"There was no hope of stealing the Philosopher's Stone any more, for I knew that Dumbledore would have seen to it that it was destroyed. But I was willing to embrace mortal life again, before chasing immortality. I set my sights lower ... I would settle for my old body back again, and my old strength."

"I knew that to achieve this, it is an old piece of Dark Magic, the potion that revived me tonight, I would need three powerful ingredients. Well, one of them was already at hand, was it not, Wormtail? The flesh freely given by a servant. . . ."

"My father's bone, naturally, meant that we would have to come here, where he was buried. But the blood of a foe ... Wormtail would have had me use any old wizard, would you not, Wormtail? Any wizard who had hated me ... because there are still so many, who do. But I knew the one I must use, if I was to rise again, more powerful than I had been when I had fallen. I wanted, needed, Harry Potters blood. I wanted the blood of the one who had banished me twelve years ago . . . for the lingering protection his mother once gave him would then reside in my veins too. . . ."

"But how to get at Harry Potter? For he has been better protected than even he knows, protected in ways devised by Dumbledore long ago, when it fell to him to arrange the boy's future. But before my mistake I had loyal followers who would do whatever it took to get me what I required, and one of them was devoted enough to give himself to the _great_ Albus Dumbledore to get him to give up all his secrets as he whispered in his ear. That is how I found that Dumbledore had invoked an ancient blood magic, to ensure the boy's protection as long as he is in his relations' care. And then, the boy would return to Hogwarts, where he is under the crooked nose of that Muggle-loving fool from morning until night. So how could I take him?"

Harry's head was slowly clearing as he listened to Voldemort, and he could see that Fleur had hidden herself behind the remains of the headstone, so she must be recovering as well. It was all he could do to stop himself laughing at Voldemort attributing everything that had stopped him to Dumbledore though. They were two of a kind, their arrogance preventing them from considering that no-one could oppose them but each other. His anger at hearing how Dumbledore had _protected_ him by leaving him at the Dursley's cruel mercies helped clear his head further.

"Why ... by using Bertha Jorkins's information, of course. Use my one faithful Death Eater, stationed at Hogwarts, to ensure that the boy's name was entered into the Goblet of Fire. Use my Death Eater to ensure that the boy won the tournament, so that he touched the Triwizard Cup first, the cup which my Death Eater had made into a Portkey, which would bring him here, beyond the reach of Dumbledore's help and protection, and into my waiting arms. The beauty of this was that Dumbledore had entrusted him to create the portkey to take the winner the start of the maze to receive acclaim for their victory, so all he had to do was change the destination. The great Albus Dumbledore assisted in so many ways to bring us to this moment, indeed, I would not have managed to achieve it without his hand in it. And here he is... the boy you all believed had been my downfall. …"

Voldemort moved slowly forward and turned to face Harry. He raised his wand.

"Crucio!"

Rather than being deflected, the curse was absorbed by the veela magic that now flowed through him. The pain was strong, but Harry had experienced worse before, and the jolt of power that he received cleared his head enough to remind him to act as though he was in agony...And then it was gone. He was hanging limply in the ropes binding him to the headstone of Voldemort's father, looking up into those bright red eyes with a dazed expression. The night was ringing with the sound of the Death Eaters' laughter.

"You see, I think, how foolish it was to suppose that this boy could ever have been stronger than me," said Voldemort. "But I want there to be no mistake in anybody's mind. Harry Potter escaped me by a lucky chance. And I am now going to prove my power by killing him, here and now, in front of you all, where there is no Dumbledore to help him, and no mother to die for him. I will give him his chance. He will be allowed to fight, and you will be left in no doubt which of us is the stronger. Just a little longer, Nagini," he whispered, and the snake slid away through the grass to where the Death Eaters stood watching.

"Release him, Wormtail, and give him back his wand."

Wormtail approached Harry, who scrambled to find his feet, to support his own weight before the ropes were released. Wormtail raised his new silver hand, pulled out the wad of material gagging Harry, and then, with one swipe, cut through the bonds tying Harry to the headstone.

The Death Eaters closed ranks, forming a tighter circle around him and Voldemort, so that the gaps where the missing Death Eaters should have stood were now filled. Wormtail walked out of the circle to the other grave where Cedric's body lay and returned with Harry's wand, which he thrust roughly into Harry's hand without looking at him. Then Wormtail resumed his place in the circle of watching Death Eaters. "You have been taught how to duel. Harry Potter?" said Voldemort softly, his red eyes glinting through the darkness. He didn't wait for a reply….

"We bow to each other. Harry," said Voldemort, bending a little, but keeping his snakelike face upturned to Harry. "Come now, the niceties must be observed. . . . Dumbledore would want you to show manners. . . . Bow to death, Harry Potter …"

The Death Eaters were laughing again. Voldemorts lipless mouth was smiling. Harry did not bow.

He was not going to let Voldemort play with him before killing him ... he was not going to give him that satisfaction. . . .

"I said, bow!" Voldemort said, raising his wand, Harry felt the surge of power from a strong compulsion spell, so he bowed as if he was being forced, and the Death Eaters laughed even harder.

"Very good," said Voldemort softly. "And now you face me, like a man . . . straight-backed and proud, the way your father died. . . ." Harry felt another surge from a compulsion spell, and straightened up.

"And now - we duel!"

And before Harry could do anything to defend himself, before he could even move, he had been hit again by the Cruciatus Curse. Again, the pain was bearable, but he put on an act of rolling on the ground in agony to cover up the fact that he was growing stronger. . . . And then it stopped.

Harry scrambled to his feet, staggering sideways into the wall of watching Death Eaters, so they pushed him away, back toward Voldemort.

"A little break," said Voldemort, the slit-like nostrils dilating with excitement, "a little pause . . . That hurt, didn't it. Harry Potter? You don't want me to do that again, do you?"

Harry didn't answer. Those pitiless red eyes were telling him that he was going to die like Cedric... he was going to die, and there was nothing he could do about it... but he wasn't. He wasn't going to obey Voldemort... he wasn't going to beg…..he was going to strike back when the time was right.

"I asked you whether you want me to do that again," said Voldemort softly. "Answer me! Imperio!"

Harry felt the curse battering against his mind, but his walls held, and it just made him stronger, he decided that it was time to act. . . . "I WON'T!"

The words burst from Harry's mouth and echoed through the graveyard. . . .

"You won't?" said Voldemort quietly, and the Death Eaters were not laughing now. "You won't say no? Harry Potter, obedience is a virtue I obviously need to teach you before you die. . . . Perhaps another little dose of pain?"

Voldemort raised his wand again, but this time Harry dodged the curse, and heard the marble headstone of Voldemort's father crack as it missed him, then he quickly ducked behind the headstone to try and give himself a chance to think of a way out of this.

"We are not playing hide-and-seek, Harry," said Voldemort's soft, cold voice, drawing nearer, as the Death Eaters laughed. "You cannot hide from me. Does this mean you are tired of our duel?

Does this mean that you would prefer me to finish it now, Harry? Come out, Harry . . . come out and play, then ... it will be quick ... it might even be painless ... but I cannot promise that. . . ."

Harry crouched behind the headstone and as he heard Voldemort draw nearer, he knew one thing only. Beyond all fear and reason, he was sure that he couldn't win here but he was not going to die crouching here like a child playing hide and seek, and he was not going to die kneeling at Voldemort's feet either... He was going to die upright like his father, and he was going to die fighting back, even if winning was not possible with Voldemort's Death Eaters spread all around him. His only hope was that Fleur could get away while he fought them.

With that, Harry stood up ... gripping his wand in his hand, he thrust it out in front of him, and stepped around the headstone to face Voldemort.

Voldemort was waiting for him and as Harry shouted. "Expelliarmus!" Voldemort cried, "Avada Kedavra!"

A beam of green light issued from Voldemorts wand just as one of red light blasted from Harry's, they met in midair, and suddenly Harry's wand was vibrating as though a massive electric charge was surging through it. His hand seized up around it, he couldn't have let go if he'd wanted to, and the solid beam of light connecting the two wands changed in colour, now no longer red nor green, but bright, deep gold.

Looking along the beam at his opponent, Harry saw that the wand that Voldemort's white fingers were gripping was also shaking and vibrating like his.

And then Harry felt his feet lifting off the ground. He and Voldemort were both raised into the air, with their wands still connected by that thread of shimmering golden light. They floated away from the grave of Voldemort's father and came to rest on a open patch of ground that was free of graves...

The Death Eaters were shouting, asking Voldemort for instructions, then they closed in, reforming the circle around Harry and Voldemort, the snake slithering at their heels, some of them drawing their wands…..

As they touched down again, the golden thread connecting Harry and Voldemort split, and though their wands remained connected, a thousand more beams were suddenly arching high over Harry and Voldemort and all around them, criss-crossing until they were enclosed in a golden, dome-shaped web, a cage of light, beyond which the Death Eaters circled like jackals, their cries strangely muffled now. . . .

"Do nothing!" Voldemort shrieked at his Death Eaters, and Harry saw his red eyes wide with astonishment at what was happening, saw him fighting to break the thread of light connecting his wand with Harry's. Harry held onto his wand more tightly, with both hands now, and the golden thread remained unbroken.

"Do nothing unless I command you!" Voldemort shouted to his Death Eaters.

And then an unearthly and beautiful sound filled the air. ... It was coming from every thread of the web of light vibrating around Harry and Voldemort. It was a sound Harry recognised, it was phoenix song.

It was the sound of hope to Harry. . . the most beautiful and welcome thing he had ever heard in his life. . . . He felt the song inside him instead of just around him. ... It was the sound he connected with Fawkes, and it was as though she was speaking in his head…..

'Don't break the connection.'

'I know.' Harry told the music, 'I know I mustn't. . .' but as soon as he thought that, it became much harder to do. His wand began to vibrate more powerfully than ever as Voldemort concentrated on the link between the wands…. and now that beam between him and Voldemort had changed too ... it was as though large beads of light were now sliding up and down the thread connecting the wands. Harry felt his wand shudder under his hand as the light beads began to slide slowly and steadily his way. . . . .

As the closest bead of light moved nearer to Harry's wand tip, the wood beneath his fingers grew so hot he feared it would burst into flame. The closer that bead moved, the harder Harry's wand vibrated. He was sure his wand would not survive contact with it, it felt as though it was about to explode in his fingers.

He concentrated on forcing the bead back toward Voldemort, his ears full of phoenix song, his eyes furious, fixed . . . and slowly, very slowly, the beads quivered to a halt, and then, just as slowly, they began to move back the other way . . . and it was Voldemort's wand that was vibrating harder now… Voldemort who looked astonished, and almost fearful. . . .

One of the beads of light was now quivering, just inches from the tip of Voldemort's wand. Harry didn't quite understand why he was doing it, didn't know what it might achieve . . . but he concentrated as he had never before done in his life on forcing that bead of light right back into Voldemort's wand... and slowly... so very slowly... it moved along the golden thread... it trembled for a moment... and then it connected.…

At once, echoing screams of pain began to emit from Voldemort's wand . . . then, Voldemort's red eyes widened with shock as something dense and smoky began to blossom from the tip of his wand, a great, grayish something, which looked as though it were made of the densest smoke, so dense it almost looked solid. … As it formed. Harry could see a head . . . now a chest and arms . . . and then the torso of Cedric Diggory.

If ever Harry might have been shocked enough to release his wand, it would have been then, but instinct kept him clutching onto his wand tightly, so that the thread of golden light remained unbroken, even when the thick gray ghost of Cedric Diggory (was this really a ghost? it looked so solid) had emerged in its entirety from the end of Voldemort's wand. It was as though it had squeezed itself out of a very narrow tunnel. . . but this shade of Cedric stood up, and looked up and down the golden thread of light, and spoke. "Hold on Harry!"

Cedric's voice was distant and echoing, as if he was hearing it from somewhere else. Harry looked at Voldemort ... his wide red eyes were shocked ... he had obviously no more expected this than Harry had…. and, very faintly, Harry heard the frightened yells of the Death Eaters who were prowling around the outside of the golden dome….

More screams of pain came from Voldemort's wand . . . and then something else emerged from its tip ... the dense shadow of a second head, quickly followed by arms and torso ... an old man Harry had seen only in a dream was now pushing himself out of the end of the wand just as Cedric had done… and his ghost, or his shadow, whatever it was, fell to the ground next to Cedric's, and after Cedric's shade helped him up, he took in Harry and Voldemort, and the golden web, and the connected wands with mild surprise, and leaning on his walking stick. . . .he spoke to Harry.

"Killed me, that one did….You fight him, boy…. You beat him!" the old man said, his angry gaze fixed on Voldemort.

But already, yet another head was emerging ... and this head, gray as a smoky statue, was a woman's. . . . Harry, both arms shaking now as he fought to keep his wand still, saw her drop to the ground and got to her feet like the others, staring…..

The shadow of Bertha Jorkins surveyed the battle before her with wide eyes.

"Don't let go now!" she cried, and her voice echoed like Cedric's as though from very far away. "Don't let him get you, don't let go!"

She and the other two shadowy figures began to pace around the inner walls of the golden web, while Voldemort's Death Eaters flitted around the outside of it... and Voldemort's dead victims whispered as they circled the duellers, whispering words of encouragement to Harry, and hissing words Harry couldn't hear at Voldemort.

And now another head was emerging from the tip of Voldemorts wand . . . and Harry knew when he saw it who it would be ... he knew, as though he had expected it from the moment when Cedric had appeared from the wand…. knew, because the one appearing was the one he'd thought of more than any other….

First her head, then her body... a young woman with long hair, the smoky, shadowy form of Lily Potter blossomed from the end of Voldemort's wand, fell to the ground, and stood like those who came before her. She walked close to Harry, looking up at him, and she spoke in the same distant, echoing voice as the others, but quietly, so that Voldemort, his face now shining with fear as his victims prowled around him, could not hear...

"Your father's coming Harry..." she said quietly. "He wants to be with you ... it will be all right.. .hold on. . . ."

And he came. . . The smoky shadow of a tall man with untidy hair formed and fell to the ground as his mother had done, stood up, and looked at him . . . and Harry, his arms shaking madly now, looked back into the ghostly face of his father.

As Harry was drawing strength from his father's presence, his mother whispered again, even more quietly….

"When the connection is broken, we can linger for only moments . . . but we will give you time... you must get to the portkey, it will return you to Hogwarts ... do you understand, Harry?"

"Yes," Harry gasped, fighting now to keep a hold on his wand, which was slipping and sliding beneath his fingers.

"Harry . . ." whispered the figure of Cedric, "take my body back, will you? Take my body back to my parents…"

"I will," said Harry, his face screwed up with the effort of holding the wand.

"Do it now Harry," whispered his father's voice, "be ready to run . . . do it now. …"

"NOW!" Harry yelled. He didn't think he could have held on for another moment anyway - he pulled his wand upward with an almighty wrench, and the golden thread broke. The cage of light vanished, the phoenix song died, but the shadowy figures of Voldemort's victims did not disappear, they were closing in on Voldemort, shielding Harry from his gaze…..

And Harry ran as he had never run in his life, knocking two stunned Death Eaters aside as he passed. He zigzagged behind headstones, feeling their curses following him, hearing them hit the headstones, he was dodging curses and graves, running toward Cedric's body, no longer aware of the pain in his leg, his whole being concentrated on what he had to do….

"Stun him!" he heard Voldemort scream.

Ten feet from Cedric, Harry dove behind a marble angel to avoid the jets of red light and saw the tip of its wing shatter as the spells hit it. Gripping his wand more tightly, he dashed out from behind the angel.

"Impedimenta!" he bellowed, pointing his wand wildly at the Death Eaters running at him before taking off again.

From a muffled yell, he thought he had stopped at least one of them, but there was no time to stop and look, because just then the great snake reared up in front of him. He threw a cutting curse at it, but it had no effect, Voldemort must have protected it against magic. He wondered why Voldemort would go to such lengths for a snake, even if it was a familiar, but he didn't waste time thinking about that as the Sword of Grydffindor appeared in his hand. The snake provided most of the movement required to lop off its striking head, and then he knew why Voldemort did what he did to protect the snake as he sidestepped the head, because he saw Voldemort's soul fragment escaping from the snake's body as it fell to the ground. He pointed his wand at the soul fragment and shouted. "Emundo!"

The scream as the soul fragment was destroyed didn't seem quite as loud as the one from the diary had been, but Voldemort definitely heard it, because as Harry jumped over the cup and dived to he stretch out his hand and grab Cedric's arm… he heard Voldemort Shriek "Stand aside! I will kill him! He is mine!"

Harry's hand closed on Cedric's wrist and he shouted at Fleur to get her attention. There was only one tombstone between him and Voldemort, and he couldn't move Fleur to safety, let alone take Cedric, and the cup was out of reach….

Voldemort's red eyes flamed in the darkness. Harry saw his mouth curl into a smile, saw him raise his wand.

Fleur grabbed onto Harry's arm as he yelled "Accio Cup!" The cup flew through into the air towards him. Harry caught it by the handle…..

He heard Voldemort s scream of fury at the same moment that he felt the jerk behind his navel that meant the Portkey had worked, and it was speeding them away in a whirl of wind and colour. He could sense Fleur and Cedric with him. . . . They were going back.

* * *

Harry felt himself slam flat into the ground, his face was pressed into grass and the smell of it filled his nostrils. He had closed his eyes while the Portkey transported him, and he kept them closed now. He did not move, all the breath seemed to have been knocked out of him, his head was swimming so much he felt as though the ground beneath him was heaving like the deck of a ship.

To hold himself steady, he tightened his hold on the two things he was still clutching, the smooth, cold handle of the Triwizard Cup and Cedric's arm, and he drew strength from the feeling of Fleur clutching his arm. He felt as though he would slide away into the blackness gathering at the edges of his brain if he lost touch with of any of them. Shock and exhaustion kept him on the ground, breathing in the smell of the grass, waiting . . . waiting for someone to do something . . . something to happen . . . and all the while, his scar burned dully on his forehead. . . .

A torrent of sound deafened and confused him, there were voices everywhere, footsteps, screams... He remained where he was, his face screwed up against the noise, as though it were a nightmare that would pass. . . .

Then a pair of hands seized him and turned him over.

"Harry! Harry!"

He opened his eyes.

He was looking up at the starry sky, and Hermione was kneeling over him. The dark shadows of a crowd of people pressed in around them, pushing nearer, Harry felt the ground beneath his head vibrating with their footsteps.

He had come back to the entrance to the maze. He could see the stands rising above him, the shapes of people moving in them, the stars above.

Harry let go of the cup and raised his free hand to seize Hermione's wrist, while her face swam in and out of focus.

"Hermione, he's back," Harry whispered. "Voldemort's back."

"What's going on? What's happened?"

The faces of Albus Dumbledore and Cornelius Fudge appeared upside down over Harry, looking white, and appalled.

"My God - Diggory!" Fudge whispered. "Dumbledore - he's dead!"

These words were repeated, the shadowy figures pressing in on them gasped it to those around them ... and then others were shouting it, screeching it, into the night. "He's dead!" "He's dead!" "It's Cedric Diggory! He's Dead!"

"Harry, let go of him," he heard Dumbledore's voice say, and he felt fingers trying to pry him from Cedric's limp body, but Harry wouldn't let him go.

Then Dumbledore's face, which was still blurred and misty, came closer. "Harry, you can't help him now. It's over. Let go."

"He wanted me to bring him back," Harry muttered, it seemed important to explain this. "He wanted me to bring him back to his parents. …"

"That's right. Harry . . . just let go now. . . ."

By now Remus, Angela and the others were there and were pushing everyone else back.

Remus bent down, and hauled Harry up off the ground to set him on his feet, while Fleur's father did the same for her. Harry swayed. His head was pounding. His injured leg would no longer support his weight. The crowd around them jostled, fighting to get closer, pressing darkly in on him, even with their people forcing them back. "What's happened?" "What's wrong with him?" "Diggorys dead!"

"He'll need to go to the hospital wing!" Fudge was saying loudly. "He's ill, he's injured. He doesn't know what he's saying. Dumbledore, Diggory's parents, they're here, they're in the stands. …"

"Dumbledore, can't you see? Amos Diggory's running . . . he's coming over. . . . Don't you think you should tell him…. before he sees…. ?"

Girls were screaming, sobbing hysterically... The scene flickered oddly before Harry's eyes….

* * *

As Dumbledore and Fudge moved away, Moody pushed his way in and tried to say that he was to take Harry to Infirmary. That was enough to cut through the shock for Remus, Angela and the others in charge of Harry's care. Angela shared a look with Remus before she answered Moody. "Thank you Professor, but there's no need, we'll look after Harry…."

He cut her off. "No, this is part of the tournament and a proper official has to do it!"

At that, Remus handed Harry off to Hermione and formed up with Angela and Tonks between Moody and Harry as Angela responded. "No, no-one but us looks after Lord Potter, you should know that by now Moody, you've been here long enough haven't you?"

Moody tried to push past them to grab Harry and they all hit him with stunner spells, securing him as soon as he fell and sending an Auror to bring Madam Bones. Harry was muttering what Voldemort said about having a faithful servant at Hogwarts, and they passed this on to Amelia when she arrived. She allocated trusted Aurors to take charge of Moody while Angela called for the elves to take Harry and Fleur and whoever needed to go with them to the Infirmary.

* * *

Fawkes flamed into the infirmary and cried onto Harry's leg to fix what the Acromantula did to him before Madam Pomfrey treated Harry and Fleur for the injuries they had sustained when the headstone exploded next to them, and the cut on Harry's arm as well. She couldn't understand how they weren't showing any ill effects from the cruciatus curses that they were both subjected to, but Apolline quietly explained to her about veela healing, and how veela magic absorbs the power of curses that strike them. Madam Pomfrey was shocked at that, but understood the need to keep it quiet. So she released them to go back to their tower where they were safe.

Everyone outside was clamouring to know what happened, so they had their elves pop them straight back into the tower. Amelia had already had the elves take Dumbledore back to his chambers when she heard him trying to tell people that he was being kept prisoner. She had to obliviate anyone he talked to, of course, but she'd been wanting to do something about _them_ for ages, so that was actually quite satisfying for her.

Minister Fudge, Professors McGonagall and Flitwick, Senior Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt and the Delacours were the only ones allowed into Potter Tower to hear what happened, but the Delacours were part of the family now anyway, Harry had formally aligned the Noble and Ancient House of Flamel with the Noble and Ancient House of Delacour to give a formal basis to their association.

Fudge didn't want to believe that Voldemort (or he must not be named as he called him) was back, even when they showed him Harry and Fleur's memories of what happened in the graveyard. The story that Voldemort told his Death Eaters was very illuminating, especially in regard to the ones he named, the fact that Dumbledore had given up so many secrets to the Death Eater who willingly shared his bed, and the faithful servant that Voldemort had in Hogwarts, they also wanted to know exactly what assistance Dumbledore had given to Voldemort's plans for the tournament in his blind arrogance.

When they heard that Amos Diggory was demanding that whoever killed his son be punished, Amelia had him brought to the Tower, along with his wife. They were showed the battle with the Acromantula and the champions' decision to grab the cup together to make it a three way tie, and then arriving in the graveyard. They also saw the figure approach them in the graveyard, Harry reacting in pain and then the killing curse that hit Cedric and clipped the headstone, exploding it to knock out Harry and Fleur. They played the memory long enough to show Pettigrew's face and dark mark and Voldemort's rebirth and calling his Death Eaters, then it was shut it down and Harry spoke. "Mister and Missus Diggory, I am so sorry that I talked Cedric into taking the Cup with us. We all thought that we were sharing the prize of the tournament, just as we had worked together to reach the cup. If I had known that this was going to happen, I would have taken it myself to protect Cedric and Fleur.."

Mister Diggory was too stunned to speak, but Missus Diggory cut him off. "No! No Mister Potter, there was no way that you could have known that this was a trap that had been set for you! Our Cedric told us in the letters he sent home that at first he believed that you had cheated to get into the tournament, but he knew by the time that you had completed the first task that it was true, you had been trapped into competing. As you said, the three of you worked together to get there and it was a noble and honourable thing for you to agree to share the win. The people responsible for Cedric's death are those creatures you met in the graveyard!"

She turned to look at Minister Fudge and Madam Bones. "What is the Ministry doing to make sure that that creature does not rise again Minister Fudge?"

Fudge started to waffle on about not being certain that he who must not be named had come back, and that was enough to break Amos Diggory out of his funk. Slamming his hand down on the table that the penseive was on, he shouted in Fudge's face. "Are you blind? I knew Peter Pettigrew and I just saw him murder my son before he resurrected his master in a dark ritual! I also saw the thing that _Voldemort_ has become, and the fact that he used Pettigrew's dark mark to call his remaining Death Eaters to him! Voldemort ordered Pettigrew to kill my son and Pettigrew did it! If you refuse to do anything about him I will depose you as the Minister and do it myself!"

Talk like that scared Fudge, because he knew how tenuous his grip on his position was since the purge of the Death Eaters and their supporters from the Ministry. "Now, now Amos, there's no need to take that tack, I'm merely trying to make sure that we do this properly….."

Amelia saw a chance to make him agree to a few things while they had witnesses. "Yes Mister Diggory, Minister Fudge is already talking about expanding the Aurors' force to ensure that we can stop Voldemort and his followers, and will be signing the arrest warrants of everyone who was mentioned by Voldemort before we leave here, isn't that right Minister?"

Fudge had flinched every time she said 'Voldemort', but that was part of the reason she did it.

Anxious to try and hold onto his position he responded. "Yes, yes, quite right, we'll make sure that they don't get away..."

Amelia jumped in again. "Actually, it's only right that you are part of this Mister Diggory, I can write out the warrants now and you can witness them for the Minister with me, as the first blow against those who killed your son."

When Amos's eyes gleamed at that thought, there was no way that Fudge could wriggle out of it, and they held him there, discussing the plan to address the threat of Voldemort and his Death Eaters while Amelia slipped the warrants out to Kingsley Shacklebolt to get them picked up before anyone could get word to them so they could run. She knew for a fact that at least half of the named Death Eaters were Fudge's supporters, so they owned him and as soon as he was out of her sight he'd be warning them.


	19. Countess Ravenclaw, Countess Slytherin

**Looks like when I was trying not to make things too obvious, I just left people in the dark, sorry. The way I see it, and therefore the way it works in this world, is this.**

 **Even though Voldemort's soul fragment was removed from Harry, a link of sorts still exists and Voldemort is still trying to get into Harry's head. The pain is far less than it was, so he doesn't black out like he did before, but it's still notable.**

 **It wasn't Voldemort's attempts to get into Harry's head that stopped him fighting back in the graveyard, it was concussion from being right next to the headstone when it was hit with the killing curse and exploded. It took him a while before he could think straight again after that, and as his head cleared he was getting information out of Voldemort while he was boasting about how brilliant he was, so he was biding his time and trying to get his head together enough to do something.**

 **It wasn't until Voldemort started hitting him with curses and he was getting the power surges from this that he started to recover enough to fight back. OK, this is another thing I've introduced, the absorbing power thing. The way I see it (refer above ;^), most humans don't really know anything about veela or their magic. Veela are very powerful creatures and their magic is nothing like human magic, so I can't see anything to stop them from drawing power from being hit by curses, veela fireballs and the like. It makes sense really, otherwise they'd burn each other up any time they were fighting when transformed.**

 **Also, while Harry does have the Elder Wand, it would attract too much attention if he used it instead of 'his' wand, so while he _may_ be carrying the Elder Wand as a backup, the one that he'd be using for the task is the wand with Fawkes' tail feather, the one that's a brother to Voldemort's wand. (On that note, Pettigrew had to use Voldemort's wand when he killed Cedric, for the sake of argument he'd lost his own wand (maybe left it to help frame Sirius) and Voldemort's works well enough for him, possibly because of the dark mark, or because they're both nuts.)**

 **NB: An error was picked up (thanks daithi) and Augustus Rookwood has been changed to Corban Yaxley.**

 **Also picked up another apparent inaccuracy when I was checking details and the Malfoy family has been elevated to a base level Noble House (Barony).**

 **Usual disclaimers, no rights to any characters portrayed and this is neither the real world nor a Disney Princess tale.**

By the time Fudge got away from Potter Tower, every one of the Death Eaters that Harry and Fleur had heard Voldemort name had been picked up by the Aurors. Only the trusted Aurors leading the teams had known where they were going before they arrived by portkey, and even then four or five of the Aurors with them were arrested because it appeared that they were trying to give the targets a chance to escape.

Soon after that, the Alistor Moody who had been teaching at Hogwarts that year was revealed as Barty Crouch Jr when the polyjuice potion he was using wore off. The first question they asked him under Veritaserum was where the real Alistor Moody was, because he had to be alive when Crouch took something from him for the polyjuice potion. They continued the questioning as Aurors raced off to in hope that he was still alive, but being the man he was, Moody demanded to be involved in the questioning as soon as he was freed from the large compartment in the magical trunk in 'his' chambers and released from the imperius curse.

By the time the real Moody arrived, Crouch had given up the location of the graveyard that the champions had been redirected to, but all that the Aurors found there were the remains of the snake, Cedric's wand, the cauldron and the broken headstones and the like that had been hit by stray spells and curses. Unfortunately, Crouch didn't know where Voldemort would have gone to, and nor did any of the other Death Eaters who were picked up that night.

* * *

With the urgent questions out of the way, they spent hours going through the rest of Crouch's story, starting with how he was here when he had supposedly died years ago.

The story he told was that his mother had been dying, and so she had begged his father to get him out of Azkaban. As he loved her, Barty Senior had followed his wife's wishes, using his position to get approval for the two of them to visit their son, and taking polyjuice potion with them. Barty Senior used the imperius curse on his son, then Barty Junior and his mother both took the polyjuice potion to change into each other and exchanged clothes. His mother took his place in the cell while his father left with him under control of the imperius curse. The dementors couldn't tell the difference between two frightened and upset humans, so they had no trouble getting past them.

His mother had died in Azkaban soon after that, but she'd kept taking the polyjuice potion right up until the end, so she was buried as him.

Barty Senior hadn't forgiven his son for joining Voldemort, so it was only the oath he'd given to his mother to look after him that kept Barty Junior alive, but he upheld the oath he'd made to his wife, so as soon as he was told that his son had died in Azkaban, he notified the authorities that his wife had died upon hearing the news and then had a quiet funeral for an empty coffin. As the magical records showed that she had died about the right time, no-one ever questioned what he told them.

Barty Senior had kept his son in his house under the imperius curse, hiding him under a cloak of invisibility whenever anyone came to the house, with Winky looking after him. This had worked until a witch from Barty Senior's office, Bertha Jorkins, came to the house with urgent papers for Barty to sign. As he was not at home, but was expected to return soon, Winky showed her inside and returned to look after Barty Junior. But Bertha was a nosy woman and when she heard Winky talking to someone she went to investigate. She heard enough to guess who was hiding under the invisibility cloak and when Barty Senior arrived home, she confronted him about it. Barty Senior put a very powerful memory charm on her to make her forget what she'd found out, but it was apparently too powerful for Bertha, because it permanently damaged her memory.

After that, his father moved him to the remote house where his own body had been found, and most of the time left his care to Winky. What his father didn't realise was that over the years, Barty Junior had been developing a resistance to the imperious curse that he was being kept under, and had begun to manipulate Winky's good nature, so when the Quidditch World Cup was coming up, he put on a show of being so excited about it that she convinced his father to let him go as he deserved a treat. With his position, Barty Senior had no trouble getting two seats in the Ministry box for the World Cup Match, and sent his elf up to supposedly mind their seats until he arrived with his guest. Of course, Winky went with Barty Junior hidden under an invisibility cloak.

Madam Bones had no trouble putting together what had happened that night. "So Winky didn't run off to protect herself, she ran off to find you when you took the opportunity of the Death Eater attack to knock her out and run off?" His "Yes" was no surprise. "And it was you who took your father's wand and cast the dark mark?" Again, no surprise, but his explanation when she asked him why he left the wand and went back was. He had been planning on killing his father when he went back and disappearing, but he couldn't resist casting the dark mark, and when he did that, Wormtail had come to him to tell him that their master had returned and had a task for him. At that he'd dropped the wand to implicate his father and then went with Wormtail to their master.

His master told him how he had captured Bertha Jorkins in Albania and she told him about the Triwizard Tournament, and the fact that he had escaped from Azkaban and was being hidden by his father, then his master told him his plan. This plan involved Barty kidnapping Alistor Moody and using the polyjuice potion to get into Hogwarts as him so that he could control the way the Triwizard Tournament went, so he did that just before the school year started. At first it had gone well enough, he hadn't managed to get Potter entered into the tournament, but for some reason Dumbledore did (that raised a lot of eyebrows in those listening and ensured that Dumbledore would be answering questions later). The problem came just before Christmas when his father had cornered him and tried to force him to reveal his identity, so he'd overpowered his father and put him under the imperious curse, taking him back to the house where he'd been kept for years.

Voldemort had stopped Barty from killing his father, because as long as no-one knew what was going on, they could use his father's position to exert more influence over the Triwizard Tournament. That was why they kept him locked up in the room where his son had been under the imperius curse, sending in instructions to his department, and to Bagman for the Triwizard Tournament. Wormtail and Voldemort stayed at the house to watch his father, but about a month before the third task, he had thrown off the imperius curse enough to try to escape, so they'd been forced to kill him. They'd kept using the house until the Aurors came looking for his father and had gotten away just in time.

The fact that Dumbledore had farmed the job of charming the Cup to take the winner back to the start of the maze when they reached it off to Alistor Moody made it all the simpler for Barty Junior to comply with his master's orders, because all he had to do was set a one time portkey to take them to the graveyard below Riddle Manor, and at his master's orders he also set a subsequent portkey to take them back to the start of the maze, so that he could taunt them with the corpse of their famous boy who lived.

Barty Junior complained, like Bagman, about how Potter had refused to take his advice about the tournament, so he'd been forced to work harder to get clues to him about the first two tasks. He couldn't believe how lucky he'd been to have the boy get such a clear lead going into the third task, so all he'd done to help ensure he won was put Viktor Krum under the imperius curse to get him to attack the other two champions and take them out of the running.

He didn't know how things had gone wrong when they found Krum stunned and tied up, with a broken wand, when they investigated the red sparks that went up in the maze, but he'd still been expecting things to go to plan because of the lead that Potter had had. That was why he was so shocked when _three_ figures appeared back at the start of the maze, and Potter wasn't the dead one. He'd heard Potter say that his master had returned, so he tried to get him away to get the details of his master's resurrection, and ensure that Potter died as his master wanted, but Potter's people had stunned him and captured him.

* * *

Fudge was in a panic after the events of the night, and had insisted on taking a dementor with him for protection because he was afraid of retribution after he'd failed to prevent his financial backers from being arrested. When he discovered that the DMLE were questioning Voldemort's faithful servant who'd been working inside of Hogwarts, he used his position as the Minister of Magic to force his way into the room where Barty Junior was, along with the dementor.

The recording of the questioning and collection of his memories had already been completed, and Madame Bones had gone to inform Harry and the others of what they'd discovered. Moody had been taken off to the infirmary so that Madam Pomfrey could start treating him for the nine months of neglect and abuse he'd been subjected to, so there were only the Aurors guarding Barty Crouch in the room when Fudge arrived with his dementor guard. None of them knew what to do to stop it when the dementor swooped in on the figure who was exulting because his master had arisen, and by the time they got it to back off, Barty Crouch had received the dementor's kiss.

They felt Crouch losing his soul and Harry, Hermione, Remus, Angela and Madam Bones popped, or were taken by Dommy, to the location in time to see the dementor being driven back from Crouch after it had kissed him. Of course, now that the dementor had had a taste, it was looking for its next victim and they were preparing to cast their patroni at it when Harry pointed his wand at it and shouted " **Perdere Tenebris!** " The dementor suddenly stopped, and then its horrible scream reverberated throughout the entire castle as it burned up, leaving just a foul smell and a pile of ashes in the chamber. More than a few people, including Fudge and some of the Aurors, wet themselves in terror at that horrible sound. Quite aside from that, everyone in the chamber was shocked, because it wasn't thought possible to kill a dementor, but this boy had just utterly destroyed one with a spell.

Afterwards, Harry looked in disgust at the remains of the dementor, what was left of Crouch, and Fudge before turning to the Aurors and demanding. "What was that thing doing in here?"

They pointed at Fudge frantically and Madam Bones jumped in, screaming. "What do you think were you doing, bringing a dementor in here to destroy my prisoner before we could take him to trial Fudge?" at him.

Fudge tried to puff himself up as he shouted. "Remember that you work for me Madam Bones! As the Minister of Magic and responsible for running the country, I have a duty to the people of Magical Britain to protect myself, so I brought the dementor with me as my guard. I cannot be held responsible for your Aurors' inability to protect your prisoner!" back at her.

Harry looked at Fudge in disgust and just popped out. Hermione followed him, knowing that he'd be going back to the tower, and Remus and Angela got Dommy to take them back when Amelia waved at them to say that she'd handle this. Back at the tower, Angela took Harry to task for the language he was using, but had to concede that Fudge had been monumentally stupid to bring a dementor in there with him like that. They stopped for a moment to consider whether this may have been planned to try and stop Crouch from talking, but that notion was quickly rejected as no-one believed that Fudge had either the brains or guts to do that.

Amelia came back half an hour later, after stopping at the infirmary to get confirmation that Alistor would be fine, and that Viktor Krum had definitely been under the effects of an imperius curse when he attacked Fleur. The use of the cruciatus curse was an issue, but it wasn't illegal in Bulgaria and Karkaroff had had it taught to the older students at Durmstrang. Anyway, as they shared with her in confidence, a veela can draw power from curses like that and cast them off.

Amelia did want to know about the spell that Harry had cast to destroy the dementor, so they explained about how the Gringotts curse breakers had worked out how to get Voldemort's soul fragment out of his scar by crafting spells based on the charms his mother had created to protect him as a baby. Harry also explained that the curse breakers had come up with another spell which had a similar effect to what had happened to the possessed Professor Quirrell when he touched the scar and tried to get into Harry's head, and that was what he'd used against the dementor, because when he was faced with it he was forcibly reminded what foul creatures dementors were, and obviously it worked. Amelia could understand why they weren't comfortable sharing this with the Ministry, considering how few of those in the Ministry had proven trustworthy, but appreciated that they were willing to share it with her and gave her permission to share it with those she was absolutely certain that she could trust. They agreed that Kingsley Shacklebolt was one who'd get it, because he was almost part of the group himself now.

* * *

The last week of school was rather subdued, Minister Fudge had insisted on a presentation of the cup and prize for the Triwizard Tournament at the end of year feast, and Harry and Fleur had handed both straight to Cedric's parents. Fudge had complained that they weren't treating the Triwizard Cup with the proper respect, but when Madame Maxime, as the Headmistress of Beauxbatons, and Professor McGonagall, as the acting Headmistress of Hogwarts, both said how proud they were of the way that their champions were honouring Cedric, the fallen champion, Fudge was left without a leg to stand on. Many people had a few words to say about Cedric, and his parents were brought to tears by the accolades that he was given. The only ones who didn't have anything nice to say about him were those from Slytherin and the Durmstrang delegation, and even there it was obvious that some of the Slytherins had wanted to say something but were afraid of the reaction from the stronger elements of their house.

On the last day, the Beauxbatons students left in their carriage with a round of hugs and kisses (and Fleur complaining only half in jest that she had to go in the carriage when they could have popped her over the channel in seconds), but the Durmstrang students marched down to their ship without a word to anyone. Part of the Durmstrang demeanour may have been because of the meeting that Madam Bones and Comte Delacour had had with Viktor Krum where they told him that if he ever set foot in Britain or France again, they'd pursue the charges over his attempted attack on the heirs of a Noble and Ancient House in France and a Noble House in Britain. Having to take word back to Durmstrang that its headmaster was now a marked Death Eater and wanted criminal didn't help their mood either.

After the year they'd had and with Voldemort back, they weren't about to take the risk of something happening on the Hogwarts Express, so they just popped straight back to Potter Manor. The Manor was more full than it had ever been, because as well as Harry, Hermione, Remus, Angela, Tonks and the Grangers, Weasleys and Lovegoods, others had moved in. They now also had Sirius, along with Narcissa because she was working with Xeno on the Prophet and Witch Weekly (and the Quibbler, which was back to its original format) and Daphne and Astoria. Amelia and Susan and Augusta and Neville had also moved in for the summer at least (depending how the Voldemort situation and some other things went), and Fleur and Gabrielle and were there as well, as were their parents much of the time.

As with previous summer holidays, the students kept working on their magical and non-magical educations, and just about everyone else was working with the House of Potter in some way. Sirius wasn't actually working as yet, but they now had the evidence needed to push for the trial to clear him. They now had the recordings and memories from Harry, Fleur and Barty Crouch Junior to prove that Peter Pettigrew was both alive _and_ a Death Eater who was definitely serving Voldemort. Between that, the previous recordings and memories from the Shrieking Shack and the callous way he killed Cedric and tried to kill Fleur on Voldemort's orders, and the voting block that they controlled in the Wizengamot, they were comfortable that if Sirius went to trial and testified under Veritaserum, he'd be acquitted of all the false charges against him and be able to take his place in society again.

Everything went to plan with his trial, because with the new spate of Death Eaters being put on trial and being sent to Azkaban, those who were leaning towards Voldemort were afraid to argue too much for fear of drawing attention to themselves, and very few others wanted to go up against the powerful Potter Alliance, as it was called in the Wizengamot. Some diehards tried arguing that Pettigrew was under the imperius curse, but they were shouted down by others who cited the evidence taken from other Death Eater trials that the only way to get the dark mark was _willingly_ perform rape, torture, murder or whatever else Voldemort wanted to see performed for his enjoyment, because if Voldemort didn't sense enough willing participation, he'd kill the supplicant.

So, Sirius was cleared of all charges and awarded a hundred thousand galleons compensation for each year of his false imprisonment, therefore receiving one and a quarter million galleons in compensation. Then he joined the team and Amelia re-instated him as an Auror under the same terms as Angela and Tonks, so they now had three Aurors (one Senior) attached to the Potter group's protection detail, who also covered issues for the rest of Hogwarts while they were there.

* * *

After Gabrielle was through her change and Apolline and her grandmother deemed her ready, Harry and Hermione went to the Delacour's chateau in France for the bonding. Gabrielle's grandmother was also present this time, because she was fairly sure that this would be a special bonding like she and Fleur had had, and she was correct. Gabrielle transformed and released a massive burst of veela magic when her body recognised the conception as part of the bonding, and this boosted the veela magic in Harry, Hermione and Fleur when that happened (as well as their magical cores). The connection between them, the one that had brought Harry to Fleur's side in the maze, was also strengthened by this, so that they were all linked.

Now that Fleur had finished her NEWTs, she entered into the formal union with Comte Henri Flamel which would allow her to conceive and bear an heir for the House of Delacour and released the hold that she had on her pregnancy. She also started working for Gringotts, on the Potter Account.

Dumbledore had been the cause of much debate within their group since they locked him up, they'd relented a little and gave him some basic furniture when they'd moved him to a more secure suite of bed chamber, bathroom and sitting room inside the Potter Tower, with much stronger wards around them to keep him locked up in there. The reason for this was twofold, firstly he was still only sharing what information that he had to, and hence if they got rid of him they may never get what they needed out of him, and more importantly, they didn't trust the Ministry to keep him properly locked up.

By keeping him locked up themselves and ensuring that he couldn't be released, escape or be rescued, they made sure that he stayed where he was supposed to, and at the same time got something out of him to repay for some part of his crimes. This was why he was not put on trial to make him pay for what he did, and they uncovered more reprehensible deeds that needed to be paid for all the time.

* * *

Once they'd made the decision about Dumbledore, they put the motion to the board of Hogwarts for Professor McGonagall to be formalised as Hogwarts' Headmistress, and it was passed unanimously, as was having Professor Sprout established as the Deputy Headmistress. Unfortunately, at the same time Minister Fudge started having the Department of Magical Education issue 'Educational Decrees' to force changes he wanted into Hogwarts. The first of these Decrees was used to have Professor Binns ejected, as ghosts weren't 'Ministry Approved' teachers, and appoint a Ministry witch who wasn't much better than Delores Umbridge to teach the History of Magic, Mafalda Hopkirk.

Just about every muggleborn witch and wizard knew her name from the threatening letters that they kept getting from Improper Use of Magic Office. This office conveniently ignored any evidence of underage magic they saw coming from the vicinity of magical households, but doggedly went after every instance they saw from anywhere near non-magical households. They also refused to accept any evidence that was offered to prove that it wasn't the muggleborn witches or wizards who were responsible for the magic used.

The speech that Hopkirk insisted on repeating by rote at the Sorting Feast also sounded distinctly like a harbinger of trouble for those at Hogwarts:

"The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of our young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if they are not nurtured and honed by careful instruction. The ancient skills that are unique to the wizarding community must be passed down through the generations lest we lose them forever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge that was amassed by our ancestors must be guarded, replenished and polished by those of us who have been called to the noble profession of teaching."

"Every headmaster and headmistress of Hogwarts has brought something new to the weighty task of governing this historic school, and that is as it should be, for without progress there would be stagnation and decay. Then again, progress purely for progress' sake _must_ be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering. A proper balance must be found, therefore, between the old and the new, between permanence and change, between tradition and innovation, because while some changes may be for the better, others will come, in the fullness of time, to be recognised as errors of judgement. Meanwhile, some old habits will be retained, and rightly so, whereas others, outmoded and outworn, must be abandoned. Let us move forward, then, into a new era of openness, effectiveness and accountability, intent on preserving what ought to be preserved, perfecting what needs to be perfected, and pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited."

They could see that most of the professors were just as disturbed by the implied threats in this speech as they were, and Professor McGonagall caught Harry's eye to say that this was something that they needed to discuss. Of course, replacing Binns with Hopkirk was merely the opener for what Fudge really wanted to do, which was to force those at Hogwarts to support his version of events.

Hopkirk hadn't been at Hogwarts more than a few days before she had to report that a) Dumbledore was no longer the headmaster, or anywhere to be found. b) It was proving well nigh impossible to make Potter do anything that he didn't want to do. and c) She couldn't influence Potter and his people through her classes anyway, because they all used private tutors for the History of Magic subject. They were pretty sure that this was why another 'Educational Decree' was issued less than a week later to create the new position of 'High Inquisitor', which gave her the authority to evaluate and force changes to the subjects taught by other teachers at Hogwarts, and call for the teachers' replacement if they didn't and wouldn't comply with the 'Ministry Approved' standards.

Fudge raged when Hopkirk reported that she was refused entry to Potter Tower to evaluate the lessons that were being given by the Potter Group's private tutors, but shuddered as he remembered the thinly veiled threat that Potter had made when he demanded that Dawlish and the others be granted entry into Potter Tower. When he remembered that, he frantically sent back a reply to Hopkirk not to antagonise Lord Potter, because he had no doubt that Potter would work out that she was working under his direct orders, and he _didn't_ want Potter coming after him. Potter may have just turned fourteen but he was more frightening than any other noble that he'd ever come up against, and that Fawley witch was pretty frightening too, not to mention his werewolf champion and those goblin guards he had. For that matter, the alliances Potter had with the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and the Chief Witch of the Wizengamot made Fudge break out in a sweat too, he'd worried about the power that Dumbledore had, but that had been nothing compared to what this schoolboy Lord had managed to achieve in just a few short years.

* * *

When the new school year began, Harry, Hermione, Neville, Padma, Susan and the twins went into Seventh Year, while Luna, Ginny, Daphne, Astoria and Gabrielle went into Fifth Year. They had a new challenge this year, because from the information that they dragged out of Dumbledore about the horcruxes, they were fairly sure that one of them, the Diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw, was actually hidden inside Hogwarts somewhere.

Their school schedule was relatively uneventful at the start, they were surprised to see Moody back after his ordeal the previous school year, but he was nothing if not tough. He was no fool, either, and could see who was doing the most to address the threats that they all faced, so he joined them and became the latest vassal of the House of Potter.

Professor Grubbly‐Plank was also there, substituting for Hagrid again while he was away (Hagrid and Madame Maxime had both agreed to go and try to talk the giants around to their side after Harry heard Voldemort telling the Death Eaters that he was going to get the giants to fight for him again).

Hopkirk was having the time of her life at first, as she was able to use her new authority as 'High Inquisitor' to run roughshod over the established teachers at Hogwarts. It was obvious that she wanted to take Professor McGonagall and the senior staff to task and force them to bow to Minister Fudge's will, but she was just bright enough to recognise how much power they had behind them.

Professor Flitwick was her target at first, as his goblin blood made him an abomination to her and the rest of the blood purity fanatics, but he was too respected to openly attack. This made her main target the other half breed at Hogwarts, the giant, but that was also difficult as he was apparently on leave at the moment, so she would have to wait for his return to go after him. That left the flake who was teaching Divination, but she was nowhere near as satisfying a target as the half breeds were.

So far, the flake, Sybill Trelawney, was the only one that Hopkirk had managed to really knock out of kilter, but putting her on probation after she 'reviewed' her class had her so atwitter that she could hardly function. The rest of them, especially McGonagall, that goblin half breed and that ex-Auror they had teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts, just ignored her when she strongly suggested that much of their class content should be removed because it was inappropriate, but she was having trouble faulting them on how the majority of their students were performing.

Those Potter guards had actually made threatening motions at her when she tried to get a good look at what the students in his private study group were doing in their regular classes, but she was sure it was much too advanced for the classes they were in, and for that matter none of them were anywhere near old enough to be in the classes they were in either. When she went to interrogate the Headmistress about this though, that Fawley woman had waltzed in and insisted that she be part of the discussion, and McGonagall had shown her the document which confirmed that the Hogwarts Board had appointed Madam Fawley to oversee the Headmaster/Headmistress on matters of how Hogwarts was run nearly two years ago.

It was McGonagall who shot down the arguments about how the students, and in particular these Potter students, were studying inappropriate subjects in their classes and how the syllabus must be amended to make it more age appropriate. McGonagall had pulled out the results for the classes that she was referring to and made a floo call that had Griselda Marchbanks, the Governor of the Wizarding Examinations Authority, stepping into the room to argue for the validity and success of the current practices.

Madam Marchbanks was quite adamant that by and large, the results over the past four years at Hogwarts had been notably better than any period in the past, so forcing amendments to the syllabus for all students just because a few were too slow to keep up would be pushing education back into the dark ages. She also had McGonagall dig out the results of those who'd been held back because they hadn't made the grade and showed how their performance had picked up for most of them after they'd been held back, because they'd put the work in and kept up after that.

She seemed to enjoy pointing out that Ronald Fudge was one of the few students who couldn't or wouldn't do the work to keep up, so he was falling further and further behind the students he started with. This was why he was currently just getting by in Second Year while most of the ones he started in were doing well in Fourth Year and the five Potter students from that year were at the forefront of the Seventh Year classes. A suggestion from Hopkirk that this was a conspiracy to advance Potter and his group while holding back other, more deserving, students because Potter's group couldn't possibly be getting those results legitimately resulted in an eruption from Madam Marchbanks, who proved that she still had a mind like a steel trap. She reminded Hopkirk of her own exceedingly mediocre results and how she'd barely scraped through, while comparing her results with those of the other two witches in the office, who had themselves both skipped a year or two because they were capable of advancing faster than the others in their classes.

Hopkirk had come away from that meeting extremely angry and dissatisfied. She was also worrying about how she was going to report this to Minister Fudge, and what his reaction would be.

* * *

The search for the horcrux was frustrating the group, because they were certain that it was somewhere in Hogwarts, but there was no sign of Voldemort's dark signature anywhere to be found. They were discussing this one day, and talking about the possibility that it might be some place not normally in existence, like Salazar Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets, which only appeared when it was required when Winky piped up. "I knows this room! Some calls it the Room of Requirements but we calls it the Come and Go Room!"

That of course had everyone's attention and they got her to explain about what the house elves called the 'Come and Go Room' and how it was whatever people needed it to be. When she took them to the room though, it wasn't what they expected. They were about to give up in disappointment when the girls started asking her about the 'whatever you need it to be' aspect of the description, and Winky started describing the various aspects of the room that she'd seen. They stopped her when she got to 'room to put things away' and asked her to tell them more about that one. Once she'd done so, they asked her to take them to that room, so they popped off to the Tower, then back into _that_ version of the Come and Go Room. They knew that they were in the right place as soon as they arrived, because all the different types of magic in the room were almost overpowering.

It wasn't just the magic in the room that was daunting though, the scope of what they had to look through was even more so, because the room was the size of a large cathedral and it was filled with teetering towers of objects that must have been accumulating for centuries, These piles were separated by no more than the narrow alleyways that meandered through them. They got everyone in to help search, and they thought that they could be there for years because with the cacophony of magic in there, it didn't seem possible to detect the Voldemort's dark signature.

None of them had noticed when Luna wandered off as they debated the best way to search efficiently for the horcrux, so they were shocked when she walked up to the group while they were talking, carrying the Diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw on a salver at arm's length in front of her. Her reason for carrying that way was quite obvious, because they could feel the repulsive aura of the object, while at the same time they could feel a strong compulsion to put the thing on, and that compulsion was obviously effecting Luna more than most of them.

Harry quickly took the salver off of her and set it on the floor while Luna explained how she'd felt something calling to her, and whatever it was that was calling to her led her to the cupboard with the diadem in it. When she finished, Harry, Hermione, Remus and Angela all pointed their wands at the diadem and shouted "Emundo!" at the same time. The scream as the soul fragment in it died was more horrendous than the one in the diary had been, it reverberated about the room enough to make some of the towers of objects that filled it topple, but when they'd managed to recover their hearing and wits enough to cast the detection spells over the diadem in the wake of that shattering wave of sound and fury, it was as clean of the taint of Voldemort and dark magic as the diary had been.

* * *

Once it had been cleared as safe, Luna picked up the Diadem to examine it, and when she cast a cleaning spell over it, the diadem was revealed as a sparkling thing of beauty. Half as a joke, she said. "I think that I could be Lady Ravenclaw, don't you?..." as she set it on her head, but the laughter at her comment died as the Diadem lit up and her eyes widened because it began to speak to her.

Padma snatched it off of her head, afraid of what it was doing to her, but Luna assured her that she was fine and urged her to try it on to prove to herself that it was benign. When Padma tentatively did as she suggested, with no result, Susan held out her hand, asking to try it. It had no more reaction to Susan than it had had to Padma. It was the same with the rest of the girls, and even the boys when they tried it, but when they handed it back to Luna and she put it on again, it lit up straight away.

The most polite of the reactions to this was "Oh Merlin!" It was obvious to Harry and nearly all of them what this meant, as the heirloom of Rowena Ravenclaw had obviously accepted Luna, just as the Sword of Gryffindor had accepted Harry. He looked around the group and said. "I think that this means that Luna's the..."

"Heir of Ravenclaw!" The Grey Lady cut him off as she wafted through the wall of the Room of Requirement. She went on after staring at Luna for a long moment. "Only the true Heir of Ravenclaw would be accepted by my mother's Diadem, which means that you are also descended from me child. I stole that diadem from her in hope that it would give me the wisdom I would need to regain my place in the world when I fled to the Continent upon discovering I was with child. My mother hid my crime from all, even the other founders, in hope that I would return and all could be forgiven, but I did not. When my mother fell gravely ill and knew that she would not recover, she sent my most ardent suitor to find me, not realising that I had left, not to spurn his advances, but to hide the shame that I was carrying his child."

"He found me where I was living in a forest in Albania with our infant and though he was sore hurt to find that I had a child, presuming him to be another's, he pleaded my mother's case for me to return before it was too late. It was when I said that I could not because the shame of discovering that I had had our child out of wedlock would surely kill her that he became enraged, because only then did he realise that I had fled without telling him that I was carrying his child and giving him the chance of doing the honourable thing, marry me so that we would be wed when our child was born. We argued and he struck out in a fit of rage, killing me. He was so overcome with grief at what he had done that he then killed himself. His retainers buried the two of us at the cottage where I had lived and returned to England with the child, but I had hidden the diadem near the cottage and they did not find it."

There wasn't a sound in the room as they listened to her tale, she glanced at her audience and then turned back to Luna as she continued. "One of the Baron's retainers raised the boy as his own, because he did not believe that the bastard child of the Baron's beau would be well received by his father's proud family, especially after his father had had a falling out with my mother. I have seen a number of students who I have recognised as being descended from me in my time here, but most have shown more of the Baron's traits than mine. You however, are a true daughter of Ravenclaw, child."

Something she said clicked for Harry. "Excuse me, my Lady, but are you saying that the Bloody Baron was the father of your child?"

The Grey Lady nodded regally. "Yes, Lord Potter, Septimus Slytherin, the younger son of Salazar Slytherin, was the father of my child, and therefore he is your friend Luna's however many great grandfather, just as I am her great grandmother to the same degree."

She turned back to Luna again. "I never realised that the diadem had been returned to Hogwarts. Many students have questioned me about its whereabouts over the past millennium, seeking to gain the reputed wisdom from it, as I recall the last was the Head Boy here at Hogwarts fifty years ago. The reason that I felt the diadem now was that it awoke and accepted you as the heir when you put it on, that call reached me, and hence I came here to welcome you my child."

Luna was staring at her in disbelief, but went to her and knelt before her with tears in her eyes. They had a quiet conversation that the others drew away from to give them privacy, and then Luna got to her feet, wiping away the tears. The Grey Lady smiled at her and wafted away as Padma came to embrace her sister.

* * *

When Luna had recovered, they went back to the Tower to discuss what they must do, even though that was fairly clear. They took the pensieve and copies of their memories of what the Grey Lady had told them, and Harry, Hermione, Angela and Padma took Luna to Gringotts. The Head Goblin laughed in delight when he watched the memories and saw proof that this clever witch was indeed the true heir of Rowena Ravenclaw and, apparently, Salazar Slytherin. He took them to the Ravenclaw vault, and instructed her to put the diadem on her head, place her hands on the vault door and recite the Ravenclaw motto on Latin. None of them were at all surprised when the vault door opened for her.

The Head Goblin quickly found the Ravenclaw family ring, and gave a triumphant goblin grin when it shrank to fit her, accepting her. Luna collected a number of Rowena Ravenclaw's journals, along with her magical portrait, and then they closed the vault and headed to the Slytherin vault. The Head Goblin could open this vault, as Harry had already taken much of what was in it by right of conquest, leaving mainly the Slytherin heirlooms, family jewellery and the like. The Head Goblin actually danced a jig when the Slytherin family ring also accepted Luna as the rightful heir, because he was delighted by the thought of how much uproar this must be causing at the Ministry of Magic and the Wizengamot.

Sure enough, Angela, Augusta, Amelia, Harry, Sirius, Arthur and Xeno all soon received notices to attend an emergency session of the Wizengamot to determine who the new Lords of Ravenclaw and Slytherin were, and what this would mean to the Noble Houses of Magical Britain. Harry, Sirius, Arthur and Xeno received their notices because while Angela held the proxies for the voting rights to all of their houses, as adults who were the heads of their houses, they had the right to attend and vote for themselves if they so chose, and they certainly did so choose for this.

Luna submitted to the tests to magically trace her exact lineage back to Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin, as while the Grey Lady had told them the first step, there was nearly a thousand years to be traced from there, to where the bloodlines came to Luna through her mother.

They were looking forward to the show, so they all attended in full formal robes, and Hermione and Remus attended Harry in the Gryffindor box with him as Lady Potter and Harry's champion while Angela took the Potter seat and the non-sitting portion of the group were in the gallery. There were a few worthies in the chamber who were bright enough to take note of fact that Harry took his Gryffindor seat for this and ponder the significance of his actions, seeing as it was the rights of the houses of two other founders of Hogwarts which were being reactivated here.

Considering that of the seven original Noble and Most Ancient Houses, only Potter and Black had still been regarded as extant when Harry Potter rejoined the magical world four years ago, but that was back up to five, now that three of the four Hogwarts founders' houses had been reactivated, those who had held the power in the Wizengamot before Harry Potter rejoined their world were getting very worried.

Some of the Ancient and Noble and Noble Houses that had held the balance of power in the Wizengamot before Harry's return again tried to argue that these claims to the Houses of Ravenclaw and Slytherin were not valid, until Harry stood and the Sword of Gryffindor blazed into existence in his hand. Augusta, as the Chief Witch of the Wizengamot, hid her smile as she recognised Lord Gryffindor and after bowing to her in thanks, he stated that the honour and integrity of Countess Ravenclaw, who was also Countess Slytherin, and her rights would be defended by the Houses of Potter and Gryffindor, at which Sirius also jumped up and shouted. "And the House of Black!" Faced with the only two extant Marquesses in the Noble Houses in Magical Britain, and knowing that Lord Potter controlled the most powerful of the Noble Houses of Magical Britain, the Earls and Viscounts who had tried to question Luna's rights very quickly shut up, as they weren't about to go up against them.

The Chief Witch quickly called the session to order and had the proofs of Luna's claim to the Titles and Houses of Ravenclaw and Slytherin reviewed and accepted before she called for the vote on whether to accept Luna's claim to the Houses of Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Angela, Sirius, Harry, Amelia, Xeno and Arthur all jumped up to register the votes of the Houses of Potter, Black, Gryffindor, Longbottom, Bones, Lovegood and Weasley to accept Luna's claim the second that she did so, and many others rushed to agree, wanting to be seen to be on the side of the most powerful houses. Angela also had the proxies to vote for the Houses of Longbottom and Bones when Augusta and Amelia's official duties caused a conflict, so she voted for Augusta as well.

While they were there, Luna formally made Angela her regent for the houses of Ravenclaw and Slytherin, and aligned both houses to the Houses of Potter, Black, Gryffindor, Longbottom and Bones, which gave them nine of the fifty seats (the five Noble and Most Ancient Houses, two Noble and Ancient Houses and two Noble Houses), and nearly a third of the four hundred votes in the Wizengamot before anyone else voted with them (the titles and holdings, and therefore votes, of the Malfoy and Lestrange Houses had gone to the Houses of Potter and Longbottom upon their dissolution, while Harry returned as many of the Slytherin holdings that he'd won by right of conquest as Luna would allow).

* * *

They were in for a surprise when they went back to Hogwarts though, because a new table had been set up for them beside the High Table in the Great Hall, and the designation for Potter Tower had been changed to Founders Tower. They were advised by the Grey Lady, the Bloody Baron and Sir Nicholas that Hogwarts welcomed Luna as the Heir of Ravenclaw and Slytherin, and that she had decided that with the heirs of three of the four founders in their group now, they should be afforded the respect due to them, so she had a separate Founders table created, and Potter Tower had been changed to the Founders Tower. It was Harry who pointed out with a laugh that as the heir to _two_ of the founders, Luna was now more powerful in Hogwarts than he was.

The purebloods were outraged to see that _Goblins_ , Veelas and a _Werewolf_ were now sitting at the Founders table, eating with them as if they were people, but the ones who understood the Rules of the Noble Houses shut up anyone who was mouthing off before they could draw trouble down on their houses. The people at that table represented the heads of four of the Noble and Most Ancient Houses of Magical Britain (all five if you included Sirius, who's official role was now Luna's Champion), and the heirs to another two Noble and Ancient Houses. Between them, they held far more power than the rest of the school combined, as well as having three Aurors, a Champion (well two, but Sirius was one of the Aurors as well) and a team of elite goblin warriors protecting them, so no-one but a fool would provoke them.

After dinner, when they went back to the Founders Tower, Angela walked Harry and Luna through the steps to rescind the oaths of homage and fealty that Luna had sworn to Harry, because as the head of two Noble and Most Ancient Houses, it was no longer appropriate that she be another Lord's vassal. To protect Luna from any attempts to force a marriage upon her, they completed the agreements for her to enter into formal procreation unions with the House of Gryffindor which would allow her to conceive and bear heirs for the Houses of both Ravenclaw and Slytherin. As with marriage contracts, as a woman Luna could only be in one union at any time (the exception in her case being that she was both Ravenclaw and Slytherin), so this prevented her from being forced into other marriage contracts, and would bring the full weight of three Noble and Most Ancient Houses (not to mention the rest of the houses in their alliance and the Wizengamot) down on anyone who tried to interfere with her in any way.

The next day, they had another surprise that they were quite happy about, because Hagrid had returned!


	20. One Big Family

**Before anyone else asks, no, I considered a Hufflepuff heir but any scenario that I could think of was clumsy and garnered little value to the story. Much like rewriting everything to keep Cedric alive, it wasn't worth the trouble IMHO.**

 **References to 'popping' in, out or off re** **fer** **to the elf version of apparition, as in this world, Harry learned that first and it can't be monitored or blocked by most wizards.**

 **BTW: If dragons have been just about wiped out in Britain, _where_ did Hagrid get a fresh, dripping dragon steak? That made no sense to me!**

 **Usual disclaimers, no rights to any characters portrayed and this is neither the real world nor a Disney Princess tale.**

As soon as Hermione saw Hagrid heading towards his cottage, she and Harry popped down there, reasoning that the elves would bring anyone else who wanted to come. They got a shock when he opened the door, though, because he'd been beaten to a pulp. After he'd let them in, he went back to the table to get something, but it was obviously gone. Hagrid looked around, confused, then bent over to retrieve something from the floor, or so they thought, until the tug of war he seemed to be having was explained. "Give it up, ye daft beast! I told ye that ye could have it _after_ I was done with it, _after!_ "

With that he reefed what they were struggling over off Fang and straightened up, slapping a slab of meat to his abused face. That got a response out of Hermione. "Hagrid, No! You don't know what you'll catch from that, with it being on the floor and Fang slobbering over it!"

That got her a look that was reminiscent of the old Hagrid, confused and not understanding a word she was was saying. Harry could sense her frustration at that, so he walked over and slapped away the hand that was holding the bloody meat to Hagrid's face away and cast diagnostic spells over him, using human, goblin, elf and veela spells in an attempt to ensure that they got the full image of his injuries.

While he was doing this, Dommy popped in with Neville and they watched him working on Hagrid.

What he saw wasn't good, as Hagrid had accumulated quite a bit of serious damage while he was gone, including him being 'punch drunk' enough to explain his current confusion, but at least none of it seemed to indicate on-going problems. Now that he knew what he was facing, he started healing Hagrid, once again weaving all four magics into the process. Hermione was looking on in amazement, as they hadn't tried anything like this before and Hagrid was healing before her eyes, but she could feel Harry drawing on her and Gabrielle because he was using large amounts of magic to do so.

When he finished, Hagrid looked at him in shock, then threw the slab of meat at Fang after looking at it in distaste before asking. "How did you do that Harry?" What Hagrid could sense, but they hadn't, was that Harry had also healed most of the residual damage from Dumbledore' uncaring mutilation of his mind and memories for over half a century while he was healing the rest of his injuries. Hagrid had never been able to think or remember things this clearly before.

After Harry shrugged and explained about weaving all four magics into the process, Hagrid explained about the unexpected healing that he'd done. That had Harry and Hermione staring at him, but Hermione turned that look on Harry. "Harry, Neville's parents…. If you can do this for Hagrid, do you think?…." He stared back at her before looking at Neville, to see hope glimmering in his eyes. "I don't know, but we have to try, don't we?" They smiled at each other, excited about the possibility of helping Neville's parents, then they remembered why they were here.

Turning back to Hagrid, Harry asked. "What happened to you and why are you so late back? We haven't heard a thing since your mirror was busted by the giants and you were supposed to be back over a month ago!"

* * *

Just then, someone started banging on the door, so Harry quickly set up a mirror to let them watch what was going on in the cottage and they all popped back to the Tower. When Hagrid opened the door, Mafalda Hopkirk pushed past him into the cottage without so much as a 'by your leave' and looked around suspiciously. "Who were you talking to in here?"

Being treated like dirt by this arrogant woman in his own cottage didn't sit too well with Hagrid. "Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my cottage?"

She puffed herself up. "I am Maflada Hopkirk, the Ministry's High Inquisitor here at Hogwarts, I am authorised to review all the education here at Hogwarts to ensure that it meets Ministry Approved standards!"

Hagrid glowered at her. "Well as you can see, there are no classes going on here, inside my _private_ cottage and I did not invite you in, please leave!"

She just looked at him haughtily, how did this half breed, this creature, think he could speak to her like that? "I asked you who you were talking to!"

Hagrid waved at Fang. "The hound, now leave!"

Hopkirk showed that she was no brighter than her master, because she stood her ground in front of a half-giant who was rapidly growing more angry. "Where were you? I was told that you were only supposed to be on a few weeks leave, but you were supposed to return over a month ago!"

That pushed Hagrid over the edge, and he grabbed her arm and dragged her to the door, throwing it open and only just restraining himself enough to merely push her out the door instead of bodily throwing her deep into the Forbidden Forest. "That's my and the Headmistress's business! Now _Leave_!" He finished this in a bellow and slammed the door in her face.

Harry sent Dommy to get Professor McGonagall and bring her to Hagrid's cottage while he and Hermione popped back to Hagrid's cottage to try and calm him down. It was hardly thirty seconds later when Dommy arrived with the Headmistress, and she was livid when she watched the recording of what had happened, storming out the door to give Hopkirk a piece of her mind.

When she reached Hopkirks' office, she stormed in without knocking, to find her ranting into the floo. Hopkirk jumped up, screaming. "Who do you think you are? Barging into my private off..."

Professor McGonagall cut her off, her fury almost enough to burn the woman to the ground. "I am the Headmistress of Hogwarts! As such, I can and will enter the office of anyone employed at Hogwarts where required to discipline them for their transgressions! _You,_ however, have no right to force your way into another teacher's private residence, interrogate them about matters that have nothing to do with you or refuse to leave when requested!"

Hopkirk drew herself up. "I am the Minister's High Inquisitor here and I will do as I see fit to ensure that the Ministry's Approved standards are met!" She smirked. "Anyway, that is no longer an issue as that half-breed assaulted me and he will be heading to Azkaban for that!"

"Oh no he will _NOT_ , because he most assuredly did _not_ assault you, and if you try and frame him for anything I will make sure that you and…." at that point, she caught sight of Fudge in the floo. "Minister! If you know what's good for you, you'll get this piece of trash out of my school right now! I will not have jumped up clerks forcing their way into my teachers' private residences, interrogating them about matters relating to their private lives and trying to set them up on trumped up charges!"

Fudge was worried, he'd been sure from what Mafalda was saying that they had an ironclad case against the half-breed giant, but this Merlin be damned headmistress seemed to think that she was the one who had an unbeatable case…. "Now Minerva, Mafalda merely went to ask Mister Hagrid about his Care of Magical Creatures classes now that he's finally back, but he attacked her as soon as he opened the door, it is hardly Mafalda's fault that Dumbledore employed dangerous creatures at Hogwarts, is it? We've had trouble with Mister Hagrid before and now that Dumbledore isn't there protect his pet, I think we can all agree that it's best for everyone if we get him away from the students..."

She cut him off. "You are either being lied to or are part of this Minister, what is it?"

"What? What do you mean?"

"What I _mean_ , Minister, is that the events that happened _inside Professor_ Hagrid's cottage were not even remotely close to what you just said!..."

Hopkirk cut her off then. "That's exactly what happened! Surely you're not going to take the word of a creature like that over a respected Ministr… teacher here at Hogwarts are you?"

The Headmistress looked at her as if she'd just discovered where the rank smell of dragon dung in the room had come from. "No, _Miss_ Hopkirk! I am not taking _Professor_ Hagrid's word over your's, though I would question that anyone would ever use the word _respected_ to describe you in any capacity, I am going by the recording that just I saw of the incident in Professor Hagrid's cottage, the one which will be going to the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement before the day is out!"

She waved at Hopkirk as she addressed Fudge. "Well, Minister? Are you going to get _this_ out of here, or shall I just turn everything over to the DMLE to investigate and have her, and anyone else involved, arrested for attempting to fabricate false charges against one of my teachers?"

"Now Minerva. I'm sure that it doesn't have to get to that point. Mafalda was obviously mistaken, why can't we just let bygones be bygones and let Mafalda and Mister Hagrid get on with doing their jobs?"

She stared at the floo for a long moment. "She has to make a public apology to Professor Hagrid in the Great Hall, tonight at dinner, and if Professor Hagrid and I aren't happy with the apology, I will be pursuing the matter with the DMLE. And she'll be on probation from here on, so if she ever tries something like this again with any of the students or staff of Hogwarts, she'll be out on on her arse straight away. I hate to think what might happen if I'm forced to throw her out in the middle of the night and Professor Hagrid were too upset to properly secure some of his creatures that he keeps for the more advanced classes…."

Fudge glared at her. "Are you threatening a Ministry official Professor McGonagall? If you are…."

"Ministry official, Minister? I thought that Miss Hopkirk was here as a teacher? Are you telling me that the Ministry has forced us to accept someone who is not a teacher to teach students at Hogwarts? I will have to raise this with the Hogwarts Board! And no, I am not threatening anyone, I am merely saying that Professor Hagrid has just returned from dealing with a very upsetting family emergency, and upon his return he was immediately faced with an unknown witch forcing her way into his private residence and demanding that he answer her questions about very private matters that she had no authority or right to ask him about. If anything of that nature were to happen again, I for one could quite easily understand why Professor Hagrid might be too flustered to pay as much attention as he normally does to securing the creatures in his care."

Fudge was bright enough to know that he couldn't use anything in what she said against her, and he still had his golden rule (Don't let them take you down with them!), so he turned to Hopkirk. "Mafalda, it would appear that you may have gotten the facts slightly off because you were upset. As Minerva said, you must apologise to Professor Hagrid at dinner tonight, and ensure that you restrict yourself to your official duties from now on..."

Hopkirk exploded. "Apologise? To that creature? After he threw me out like that? Surely you're not serious Minister?"

He could see another imminent explosion building up over her shoulder. "Miss Hopkirk! The Headmistress has made her position quite clear and you'll either do as your told or start looking for another job!"

Hopkirk stared at him, unable to comprehend why he was saying this to her. She could see that he would throw her to the wolves if she didn't do as he said and silently (for once) raged at him. She was here for him, to help him put these creature lovers and their creatures in their place, but as soon as the Headmistress confronted him, he'd deserted her. That made her all the more determined to bring them all down, and he could be part of that now, but she had enough rat cunning to nod and say "Yes Minister."

Professor McGonagall nodded and turned to leave, only slightly less angry than she was when she arrived. What none of the players in what went on Hopkirk's office realised though was that Harry had been waiting under his invisibility cloak when she charged up to barge into the office and confront Hopkirk, and he'd followed her in to set several disillusioned recording mirrors on the walls around the office with sticking charms so nearly every part of that argument had been recorded, and the mirrors would continue to work until they were retrieved, because they were powered by the ambient magic in Hogwarts. (Hogwarts, like Potter Manor, was located on the junction of ley lines, and these continually fed magical energy into the buildings to power the wards and everything else.)

Of course, as soon as she'd left, Hopkirk closed and sealed the door and called Fudge back, demanding to know why he'd pretended to order her to apologise to a _half-breed_ in front of McGonagall. Fudge showed more backbone than he had before when he told her that she _was_ going to apologise to the half-breed. He told her that he'd organise to get more educational decrees issued to give her the authority to do what she had to, but in the meantime, she was the one who'd been stupid enough to get herself caught barging into the half-breed's cottage and interrogating him like that, so she'd have to do what was necessary to buy the time they needed to get them organised. That night, Hopkirk issued a quiet, perfunctory apology to Hagrid at dinner in the Great Hall, consoling herself with the fact that she'd bring him and the others down soon enough.

* * *

As soon as the Hopkirk situation had been dealt with, Harry popped into Hargrid's cottage and took him to the Tower to continue what Hopkirk had interrupted, finding out what took so long and why he was in the state he was when he got back. They settled back and listened as Hagrid told the story.

"As you know, I took the portkey to Beauxbatons, and then Olympe and I went looking for the Giants, it took us a few weeks, but we found them up in the mountains in what the muggles call Hungary. We tried to do it the way Dumbledore said that it had to be done, trying to buy their agreement with gifts and promises, but that wasn't working, the head chief of the giants took the gifts and kept demanding more, and I didn't like the way he was looking at Olympe. When he worked out that we didn't have anything else to give him, he ordered the giants to get rid of me and bring Olympe to him, so when they came for us I got out me axe."

He hung his head. "I tried not to kill 'em, tried to use the hammer side of the axe when I could, but I had to kill or maim at least half a dozen of them before they stopped coming at us. The chief promised to let us go and not side with Voldemort if I gave him the axe, but I knew that he'd just try to have us killed again as soon as he had it, so I refused and we left. I'd say we got his respect for me being able to defeat over a dozen of his giants, but they'll forget about that soon enough…."

They were quiet for a while, then Harry asked. "Why did it take you so long to get back?"

Hagrid looked away in embarrassment, and then back at Harry. "Grawp."

That left everyone confounded. "What's 'Grawp' Hagrid?"

"Not what, who! Ye see Grawp is me little brother."

" _ **What?**_ "

"Well he's me half brother really, ye see I went lookin' for me Mum when we found the giants, but I was told she'd died about fifteen years ago, near as I could make out from what they were sayin'. Then they started sayin' things about how she didn't deserve ta live, bringing the shame of that runt on the tribe. It took a bit to get it out of them but it turned out that Ma had had a few more kids after she rejoined the tribe, but the only one who'd lived was her last one, Grawp, and he was a runt, not much more than sixteen feet tall he is. Having a runt like that in the tribe is shameful to giants, so they just let Ma die when she got poorly. They've been tryin' to make him do the same and all, but the rules of the tribe wouldn't let 'em just kill him outright for no good reason, so they just kept beatin' him and hopin' he'd die. That was why I took him with us when we left. Olympe had to get back to Beauxbatons before school started, so it was just me and Grawp walking back here from the mountains of the giants, it took longer because we mainly travelled at night so people didn't see us, ye see? We had to get a boat across the Channel o' course."

Harry shook his head. "So where you did you get all those injuries?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

"Grawp mostly, he didn't want to come ye see, and I had to make him, an' Grawp don't like to be made to do things."

Hermione was in tears. "Hagrid, you have to let him go, we'll get him back to the giants but he'll kill you if this keeps up."

"No! They'll kill him! He's not like them! He's learnin'! He's a lot better than he was at the start and he's even learnin' English. He's me little brother 'ermione, I can't just abandon him, he hasn't got anyone else!"

Harry reached out to take Hermione's hand to stop her saying anything that would make things worse. "Where is he?"

Hagrid waved at the forbidden forest. "In the forest, I made him somewhere to live and I visit him every day."

"Is he _really_ learning, or are you just telling yourself that?"

Hagrid started to get angry at that, but stopped himself before he said or did anything he'd regret. "Yes! You can see for yourself if you like!"

Harry and Hermione looked at each other and nodded. "Alright, we'll come with you next time you go to see him."

That afternoon, they popped into the forest to wait for Hagrid when he was going to see Grawp, and followed him deep into the forest. They eventually came to a rather large, rude shack on the edge of a small clearing, truth be known, it was more of a lean-to than a shack, but it served well enough to provide shelter for its occupant. Harry took in the mound on the dirt floor of the shelter, and more to the point the heavy ropes that secured it to the trees that made up the corners of the shack and looked at Hagrid.

"Alright! He's still hard to handle sometimes because he wants to go back, but he _is_ learnin'! Look, I'll show you!" He stepped into the opening in the shack. "Grawpy. Wake up Grawpy, I've brought some friends to meet you!" When the shape didn't respond, he stepped forward to kick the big, bare foot that was protruding from the pile. "Come on Grawpy, get up!"

They all jumped back when the giant leapt to its feet with a speed and agility that didn't seem possible for something that size, though Harry remembered that the Horntail moved quite quickly too. Standing in the shack, dressed in a rude smock of animal skins that were tacked together, Grawp certainly _looked_ bigger than sixteen feet tall, and while Hagrid was more like an oversized human, Grawp was much more massive, he was built like a bear, or rather a gorilla with relatively short legs in comparison to his arms, and a massive head sitting on his shoulders with no apparent neck. Looking at this, Harry was reminded of his Uncle Vernon, in fact the broad, ugly face with piggy eyes and a lump of a nose did as well….

Harry shook his head, whatever Grawp was, he wasn't Harry's uncle and didn't deserve to be compared to him. He reached out to cast diagnostic spells over Grawp to see how he had fared in the battles he'd had with his brother, but when he did so, he shared a shocked look with Hermione and they stepped back. "Hagrid?"

Hagrid broke of talking soothingly to Grawp and looked at him. "Yeah Harry?"

"What do you remember about your Mum?"

Hagrid just looked at him, confused. "What do ye mean?"

"Like how big was she, was she violent like the other giants, how well did she speak English?"

He had to think about that. "Well back then I thought she was enormous, of course, but come to think of it, I doubt that she was as big as Grawpy here. I don't remember her ever getting violent and she spoke English well enough, better than any of them we spoke to over there anyway...Why Harry, why are ye asking this?"

Harry shared another look with Hermione. "Because Grawp is part human too Hagrid, so I think your Mum must have been half human, which would make you only a quarter giant."

Hagrid stared at him. " _ **What?**_ "

Another glance at Hermione had her stepping away to pull out her mirror and call Fleur while Harry tried to explain what the diagnostic spells had shown to Hagrid.

Fleur and Gabi popped into the clearing while Harry was still talking to Hagrid, and were staring at Grawp, so Hermione quickly explained that he was Hagrid's brother. Fleur caught what Harry was saying to Hagrid and cast diagnostic spells over Grawp as well, gasping. "Mon Dieu!" when she confirmed what Harry had found.

Harry quickly explained to Hagrid why they had called for Fleur and Gabi, saying that Grawp was showing the same effects of being punch drunk from too many blows to the head as he had. This was something he'd probably suffered all his life, living among the giants, so what he was hoping to do was weave the four types of healing magic together again to try and heal the damage in Grawp's head, in hope that that would help him to understand what they were doing better and make him less violent and excitable. When he reminded Hagrid of what this had done for him, he was all for the idea, so Harry got a kiss for luck from Hermione and went in.

It was less difficult than he'd expected, because in his worry about Grawp being more difficult as a three quarter giant, he'd forgotten about the fact that he wasn't healing his whole body, not yet anyway, he was only healing his head. Hagrid was looking on anxiously, but he could see that it was working because Grawp's eyes were clearing and he was standing straighter. When Harry finished and stepped back, Grawp looked at Hagrid with a confused expression on his face, saying. "Haggers?"

Hagrid laughed and asked. "How are you feeling Grawpy?" he laughed again when the response was "Grawp good!" because this was the sharpest he'd ever known him to be.

"Good, tha's good! These are the friends I brought to meet you Grawpy. This is Harry, and these pretty ladies are Hermy, Fleur and Gabi."

Grawp looked at them, saying. "Harree?" Harry waved with a smile. He grinned and said "Prit-tee!" as he looked at the girls, saying "Hermee?", "Floor?" and "Gabbee?" as he looked at each in turn. They all smiled at him and gave him a wave when he got close to their names.

Hagrid got his attention again. "Now Grawpy, if I untie you, do you promise to stay here with me and my friends? Do you promise to not try and run away again?"

Grawp nodded emphatically. "Grawp stay!"

Harry looked at Hagrid, grinning up at his brother, and waved at the ropes that tethered Grawp to the trees, saying "Relashio." to make them fall away. Fleur conjured some chairs in the clearing, and Hagrid called for Grawp to come out. Even sitting on the ground when they were on chairs, Grawp still towered over them. They spent the next half hour taking to Grawp before they had to go back to the castle. Of course this meant that they had to promise to come back and see Grawp soon before he'd let them leave, and after getting another show as Grawp stood up, Fleur transfigured his rude smock into something more practical and respectable, leaving Hagrid to explain the workings of his new clothes to him.

Back in the Tower, Hermione and Fleur fixed the others with a look and reminded them that only Grawp was allowed to call them 'Hermy' or 'Floor'! A few stinging hexes thrown Harry, Remus, Luna, Ginny and the twins' way were required before they got confirmation from everyone that that was understood.

* * *

Straight after dinner, Harry, Hermione, Neville, Fleur and Gabi popped home to Potter Manor to talk to Neville's Gran about what had happened with Hagrid and Grawp. While the goblins had been making headway with Frank and Alice, the best they'd managed was to make them more comfortable, taking away their remembered pain and upset. Harry belaboured the point that there was no guarantees that this would work, and in fact it was possible that it could make them worse, but Augusta cut him off. "Harry! They've been lost to Neville and I for thirteen years! The goblins have done for more than Saint Mungo's ever could but there's little hope of getting them back that way. I know my daughter-in-law almost as well as I do my son, and I can assure you that neither of them would want to continue this if there was no hope of getting them back. If you believe that there's any hope of getting them back, any at all! I beg of you to try it! Neville, you have as much say in this as I do, if not more, what do you want to do?"

Neville firmed his back. "Gran's right Harry, Mum and Dad wouldn't want to stay hanging in limbo with no chance of coming back. They'd want you to take this chance, please do it!"

Harry looked at the others and they nodded, so they called the Head Goblin to let them know that they were coming, and then popped off to Gringotts. They had little trouble casting the diagnostic spells and then weaving the healing spells over Alice, and then Frank (Alice was closer to recovery than Frank, so trying to bring her back first was the logical move).

Harry, Hermione, Fleur and Gabi were drained after healing Frank and Alice, especially after the magical energy they'd put into Hagrid and Grawp earlier. Harry, Fleur and the goblins' healers all cast the diagnostic spells over Frank and Alice though and all the signs were good, so they just had to wait for them to wake up to see whether it had worked. Going back to Hogwarts, or even Potter Manor, to wait to hear how they were wasn't an acceptable option for any of them, so they conjured some furniture to get comfortable and settled in to wait.

As they were waiting for Frank and Alice to awake and see whether it had worked, Augusta raised an issue that she and Amelia had been discussing that day, something that had been prompted by Harry and Luna going into the formal unions to conceive and bear heirs for the Houses of Ravenclaw and Slytherin. That had reminded them that the House of Bones was almost as attractive a target as the Houses of Ravenclaw and Slytherin were, so they wanted to broach the idea of Susan and Neville considering a similar agreement for her (as the female Heir of the House of Bones) to enter into a formal procreation union with the Heir of the House of Longbottom which would allow her to conceive and bear an heir for the House of Bones.

While it was fun to see Neville go bright red like that, it was a valid point, and one which merited serious consideration. Hermione also pointed out that the other girls were also at risk, so they should consider what other unions they could arrange, Harry was also entitled to use the Black name as well, as Sirius had given him the Black name when he named him heir to the House of Black, so a procreation union between him and Daphne would link the Houses of Black and Greengrass…..

There they ran into a snag, though, because even if Xeno named Padma as his heir instead of Luna to allow the Lovegood name to continue through another procreation union, Gabrielle and Astoria were both second daughters, and therefore didn't qualify for procreation unions when the heirs to their families were already in procreation unions and Ginny was out of line as the heir as well with four older brothers.

Fleur floored everyone then when she gave an elegant shrug and suggested. "Well, 'arry could marry them." She looked around at the stunned expressions and said. "What? They could easily be forced into marriages with 'orrible old men who'd use them terribly and wouldn't think twice about their ages! We know that 'arry would protect them from anything that they didn't want and the girls, they all love 'im!" Gabi got a laugh when she responded to that with a loud "Oui!"

Harry looked at Hermione and she gave a shrug, she could hardly argue with this when she'd been proposing more procreation unions to protect the girls. Just as with the procreation unions, these marriages could be dissolved when the danger was past and the girls wanted to seek a partner, so she nodded. "That _would_ be the best way to protect them all."

She, Fleur and Gabi could sense the worry in Harry's mind and understood what prompted it. His godfather, though Lord Black, Head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, was still a kid at heart and he would tease him mercilessly about officially having four wives _and_ four procreation unions at once at fourteen, even knowing exactly what was behind this and how important it was. When they explained this, Augusta laughed. "Oh no he won't!" That got her disbelieving looks as they wondered whether she really had any idea of what Sirius was like, until she pointed out something very relevant. "He's with Amelia now, do you _really_ believe that she'd ever let him tease Harry for doing something as wonderful as this?" Harry broke into a relieved smile when he thought about that, because Madam Longbottom was right, Madam Bones was probably the only person who could keep his godfather under control, but she was definitely up to the task!

They also discussed the most probable trouble in this, Daphne and Astoria's father, but Augusta reassured Harry that she, Angela and Amelia could create a contract which covered both the procreation agreement between Daphne and him for the House of Greengrass and the marriage between Astoria and him as the Heir of the House of Black which would negate any question of bride price or concessions to the Greengrass family. This contract could and would also include penalty clauses that would wipe out House Greengrass if anyone ever said anything about either.

When Harry said something about the others not wanting this, everyone there burst out laughing, even the goblin healers who were watching Frank and Alice. Hermione kissed him and then said. "Harry, sometimes you are an idiot! As Fleur said, the girls all love you, and they'll love you all the more for being willing to do this for them!" Gabi's sleepy "Oui!" at that drew another round of chuckles, then they all settled down to try and get some rest while they waited on Frank and Alice.

* * *

The healers woke them before Dawn, because Frank had woken up. His confused. "Mum, what are you doing here?" when Augusta hurried to his side prompted an outburst of relieved laughter and celebration that woke Alice, and her reaction was much the same. As soon as it was confirmed that they both knew who they, and Augusta were, the healers put them back to sleep to help their recovery. Augusta and Neville stayed there, so that they'd be there when they woke again, but Fleur went back to Potter Manor and Harry, Hermione and Gabrielle went back to Hogwarts to try and get a little more sleep.

They didn't manage to get much sleep, because when the others saw that Harry and Hermione's door was closed when they got up, they burst in to see whether the healing had been successful, waking up the three of them, as it had been an emotional night and they didn't want Gabi to be alone. Aside from the distraction of Ginny, Luna and Astoria being aggravated when they saw Gabrielle in her sleepwear and were reminded that she was rather more developed than them, they were all ecstatic to hear that all the signs were that Neville's parents were back, and they appeared to be fine.

At breakfast in the Great Hall, Mafalda Hopkirk was livid about the conversations going on under privacy shields around her at the High Table, that Black character had came up to tell McGonagall something, and then these private discussions broke out between all of the established teachers. Even Slughorn was let in on whatever this was, but he was obviously disappointed that he was made to swear to secrecy about it.

As noted the previous day, Hopkirk was not noted for her intelligence, and she proved why when she rounded on the Headmistress and demanded to know what they were talking about. The happiness on Professor McGonagall's face was wiped off in an instant and the temperature plummeted as she said. " _Demand_ , Miss Hopkirk? What makes you think that you have any right to _demand_ to know what the Hogwarts Professors are discussing privately? That reminds me." She turned to the Founders Table. "Madam Potter?"

"Yes Headmistress?"

"I wonder if you could arrange for a meeting of the Hogwarts Board at your earliest convenience please? Something was brought to my attention yesterday that the Board needs to be made aware of."

Angela nodded to her. "Some of the Board Members are tied up at the moment Headmistress, but I will let you know as soon as all the key members of the Board are available for a meeting."

Professor McGonagall returned her nod with thanks and then turned back to Hopkirk. " _Miss_ Hopkirk! You appear to have a _very_ short memory! It was only yesterday that I had to point out to you and the Minister that you do not have any right to intrude into the private lives of Hogwarts' Professors, and yet here you are, doing so again? For your information, we just had wonderful news about the recovery of two friends from a long term illness and that is more than you have any right to ask about. Do _not_ make me remind you of this again!"

Hopkirk was about to explode, but could see the rest of the staff eyeing her as if they were ready to pounce, and also saw the students watching this exchange with great interest. So she cut and ran, heading for the doors to get out of the Great Hall. Unfortunately, she was cut off by Ronald Fudge. "Miss Hopkirk? Is my father coming soon? I haven't managed to talk to him in ages!"

"Get out of my way boy! I don't have time for this!"

"But I only want to know when my father is coming to see me…."

"Detention! Two weeks' detention with Mister Filch for bothering a professor!"

" _ **Miss Hopkirk!**_ If I realised that your condition was _this_ bad I might have recommended that you go to Saint Mungo's. For a start, you _cannot_ issue a detention for Mister Fudge merely for politely asking you a question about his father. And by the way Mister Fudge, it is nice to see you asking so politely, please keep that up! Secondly, Miss Hopkirk, you may not assign detentions to be served with someone else unless the reason for the detention relates to something under their control. Therefore, the only valid reason to assign a detention to be served with Mister Filch is if the student has made a mess or damaged school property, _not_ because the student is bothering you, though I hardly see how asking a question like that can be regarded as bothering you. I know for a fact that this was all included in the rulebook I gave you to familiarise yourself with when you started here Miss Hopkirk. You may go Mister Fudge, there will be no detention for this."

Ron nodded and scuttled off before anyone could change their minds, while Hopkirk glared at the Headmistress. Realising that she couldn't win in a staring contest with the Headmistress, she broke it off and scuttled out of the Great Hall.

* * *

A couple of days later, Hopkirk had her chance to strike back, because she was 'reviewing' Hagrid's Care of Magical Creatures class. When the students arrived, Hagrid had what looked like a side of beef on his shoulder and he waved at the Forbidden Forrest. "We'll be having our lesson in there today, it's more sheltered in there, and they prefer the dark anyway."

Harry heard one of the purebloods who were struggling with their classes in the back muttering. "What prefers the dark? Did you hear what he said prefers the dark?"

"Ready then?" asked Hagrid cheerfully, looking around at the class. "Right, I've been saving this trip into the Forest for ye. Thought we'd go and see these creatures in their natural habitat. Now, what we're studyin' today is pretty rare, in fact I reckon I'm probably the only person in Britain who's managed to train 'em."

"And you're sure they're trained, are you?" piped up the same voice in the back, the panic in his voice even more pronounced. "Only it wouldn't be the first time you'd brought wild stuff to class, would it?"

The Slytherins murmured agreement and a few of the Gryffindors looked as though they thought the boy had a fair point, too.

"Of course they're trained!" said Hagrid, scowling and hoisting the meat a little higher on his shoulder. "Now, if you're done askin' stupid questions, follow me!"

He turned and strode into the Forest. Nobody seemed much disposed to follow. Harry glanced at Hermione and the others, and they set off after Hagrid, leading the rest of the class.

They walked for about ten minutes until they reached a place where the trees stood so closely together that it was as dark as twilight and there was no snow at all on the ground. With a grunt, Hagrid dropped the side of beef on the ground, stepped back and turned to face his class, most of whom were creeping through the trees towards him, peering around nervously as though expecting to be set upon at any moment.

"Gather round, gather round." Hagrid encouraged. "Now, they'll be attracted by the smell of the meat but I'm goin' to give 'em a call as well, 'cause they'll come more readily if they know it's me."

He turned, shook his hair out of his face and gave an odd, shrieking cry that echoed through the dark trees like the call of some monstrous bird. Nobody laughed, most of them looked too scared to make a sound.

Hagrid gave the shrieking cry again. A minute passed in which the class continued to peer nervously over their shoulders and around trees for a first glimpse of whatever it was that was coming. And then, as Hagrid shook his hair back for a third time and expanded his enormous chest, Harry nudged Padma and pointed into the black space between two gnarled yew trees.

A pair of blank, white, shining eyes were growing larger through the gloom and a moment later the dragonish face, neck and then skeletal body of a great, black, winged horse emerged from the darkness. It surveyed the class for a few seconds, swishing its long black tail, then bowed its head and began to tear flesh from the side of meat with its pointed fangs.

Relief broke over Harry. Here was proof that he had not imagined seeing these creatures, just because he'd read about them, that they were real. Obviously, Hagrid knew about them too. He looked at Padma, but she was still staring around into the trees and after a few seconds she whispered. "Why doesn't Hagrid call again?"

Most of the rest of the class were wearing expressions as confused and nervously expectant as Padmaʹs and were still gazing everywhere but at the horse-like figure standing mere feet from them. The other people who seemed to be able to see them were Hermione, Neville, the twins, Remus, Angela and the goblin guards.

"Oh, and here comes another one!" said Hagrid proudly, as a second black horse appeared out of the dark trees, folded its leathery wings closer to its body and dipped its head to bite into the meat. "Now... put ye hands up, who can see 'em?"

Harry raised his hand. Hagrid nodded at him.

"Yeah... yeah, I knew you'd be able to, Harry." he said seriously. "And you too, Neville, eh? And…."

"Excuse me." came a sneering voice from the back. "But what exactly are we supposed to be seeing?"

For an answer, Hagrid pointed at the side of beef on the ground. The whole class stared at it for a few seconds, then several people gasped and one of the girls squealed. Harry understood why, because bits of flesh stripping themselves away from the bones and vanishing into thin air had to look very odd indeed.

"What's doing that?" One of the girls demanded in a terrified voice, retreating behind the nearest tree. "Whatʹs eating it?"

"Thestrals." Hagrid answered proudly and Padma gave a soft "Oh!" of comprehension at Harry's shoulder. "Hogwarts has got a whole herd of 'em in here. Now, who knows….?"

"But they're really, really unlucky!" interrupted the girl who'd spoken earlier, looking alarmed. "They're supposed to bring all sorts of horrible misfortune on people who see them. Professor Trelawney told me once…."

"No, no, no." said Hagrid, chuckling. "That's just superstition, that is, they aren't unlucky, they're dead clever and useful! O' Course, this lot don't get a lot o' work, it's mainly just pullin' the school carriages unless Dumbledore was takin' a long journey and didn't want to apparate, and here's another couple, look…."

Two more horses came quietly out of the trees, one of them passing very close to the girl who'd panicked, who shivered and pressed herself closer to the tree, saying, "I think I felt something, I think it's near me!"

"Don't worry, it won't hurt ye." Hagrid told her patiently. "Right, now who can tell me why some of ye can see 'em and some can't?" Hermione raised her hand.

"Go on then, tell us." said Hagrid, smiling at her.

"The only people who can see thestrals." she said. "Are people who have seen death."

"That's exactly right." Hagrid said solemnly. "Ten points to Gryffindor. Now, thestrals…."

They heard the sound of someone pretending to clear their throat behind them, Hopkirk had arrived. She was standing a few feet away from Harry, wearing a green hat and cloak, her clipboard at the ready. Hagrid, who had never heard her fake cough before, was looking in some concern at the closest thestral, evidently worried that it had made the sound.

She tried again and he looked around, having located the source of the noise. "Oh! Hello." He made it clear that he wasn't happy to see her.

"You received the note I sent to your cabin this morning?" Hopkirk asked in a loud, slow voice, as though she were addressing somebody both foreign and very slow. "Telling you that I would be inspecting your lesson?"

Hagrid glowered at her, not having forgotten their first meeting. "Obviously, as you apparently got the directions I left for you. "Well, as you can see, or can you? We're doing thestrals today…."

"I'm sorry?" said Hopkirk loudly, cupping her hand around her ear and frowning. "What did you say?"

Hagrid looked at her suspiciously.

"Thestrals!" he said loudly. "Big, winged horses, ye know!"

He flapped his gigantic arms at her. Hopkirk raised her eyebrows at him and muttered as she made a note on her clipboard: "Has... to... resort... to... crude... sign... language."

"Well... anyway..." said Hagrid, turning back to the class and looking slightly aggravated. "Where were we?"

"Appears... to... have... poor... short... term... memory." muttered Hopkirk, loudly enough for everyone to hear her. The pureblood bigots looked as though Christmas had come a month early. Hermione, on the other hand, had turned scarlet with suppressed rage. Harry glanced over at Angela and the others and she nodded, they were getting a recording of this.

"Right." said Hagrid, throwing an angry glance at Hopkirk's clipboard, but ploughing on. "Right, was gonna tell ye how come we have a herd. Yeah, so, we started off with a male and five females. This one..." he patted the first horse to have appeared. "Is Tenebrus, he's my special favourite, as he was the first one born here in the Forest…."

"Are you aware." Hopkirk interrupted loudly. "That the Ministry of Magic has classified thestrals as 'dangerous'?"

Hagrid glared at her. "No, as Hogwarts haven't been notified of that by the Ministry, and it's ridiculous, thestrals aren't dangerous! They might take a bite out of someone who's baiting them…."

"Shows... signs... of... pleasure... at... idea... of... violence." muttered Hopkirk, scribbling on her clipboard again.

"Stop that!" Hagrid barked, glowering at her. "That's not what I said at all! A dog will bite if it's baited, won't it? Thestrals just have a bad reputation because of the death thing, people used to think they were bad omens, but it was all just superstition!"

Hopkirk did not answer, she finished writing her last note, then looked up at Hagrid and said, again very loudly and slowly. "Please continue teaching as usual. I am going to walk,ʹ she mimed walking (The purebloods laughed) "among the students" (she pointed around at individual members of the class) "and ask them questions." She pointed at her mouth to indicate talking.

Harry signalled to Hagrid not to react, but unfortunately that didn't include Hermione. She had tears of fury in her eyes now. "You hag, you evil hag!" she whispered, as Hopkirk walked towards the purebloods who had been laughing it up. "I know what you're doing, you awful, twisted, vicious..."

"Right... anyway." said Hagrid, clearly trying to regain the flow of his lesson. "So, thestrals. Yeah. Well, there's loads of good things about them…..."

He was cut off by Hopkirk talking loudly to one of the pureblood girls. "Do you find, that you are able to understand Professor Hagrid when he talks?"

Just like Hermione, the girl had tears in her eyes, but these were tears of laughter, indeed, her answer was almost incoherent because she was trying to suppress her giggles.

"No... because... well... it sounds... like grunting a lot of the time."

Hopkirk scribbled on her clipboard. Hagridʹs face flushed, but he tried to act as though he had not heard her answer.

"Right, the good things about thestrals. Well, once they're tamed, like this lot, you'll never be lost again. They have an amazing sense of direction, just tell them where ye want to go….."

"Assuming they can understand you, of course!" one of the pureblood boys called out loudly, and the girl collapsed in a fit of renewed giggles. Hopkirk smiled indulgently at them and then turned to Neville.

"You can see the thestrals, Longbottom, can you?" she asked. Neville nodded.

"Who did you see die?" she asked, her tone indifferent.

"My... my grandad." said Neville.

"And what do you think of them?" she said, waving her stubby hand at where the thestrals had stripped a great deal of the carcass down to bone.

"Well." said Neville nervously, with a glance at Hagrid. "Well, they're... er... OK..."

"Students... are... too... intimidated... to... admit... they... are... frightened." muttered Hopkirk, making another note on her clipboard.

"No!" barked Neville, looking up angry. "No, I'm not scared of them!"

"It's quite all right." said Hopkirk, patting Neville on the shoulder with what she evidently meant to be an understanding smile, though it looked more like a leer to Harry. "Well, Hagrid" she turned to look up at him again, speaking once more in that loud, slow voice, "I think I've got enough to be getting along with. You will receive" (she mimed taking something from the air in front of her) "the results of your inspection" (she pointed at the clipboard) "in ten days' time." She held up ten stubby little fingers, then, her smile wider and more malevolent than ever before beneath her green hat, she bustled from their midst, leaving the purebloods in fits of laughter, Hermione actually shaking with fury and Neville looking angry as well. Harry looked at Angela again and she nodded, they'd got the whole thing.

"That foul, lying, twisting old gargoyle!" stormed Hermione half an hour later, as they made their way back up to the castle through the paths they had made earlier in the snow. "You see what sheʹs up to? It's her thing about half‐breeds all over again. she's trying to make out Hagrid's some kind of dimwitted troll, just because he had a giantess for a mother…. And oh, it's not fair, that really wasn't a bad lesson at all, I mean, all right, if it had been Blast‐Ended Skrewts again it might have been dicey, but the thestrals are fine, in fact, for Hagrid, theyʹre really good!"

"Hopkirk said they're dangerous?…." Susan interjected.

"Well, it's just like Hagrid said, isn't it? They can look after themselves." Padma responded impatiently, "and I suppose a teacher like Grubbly‐Plank wouldn't usually show them to us like that, but well, they are very interesting, aren't they? The way some people can see them and some can't! I wish I could."

"Do you?" Harry asked her quietly.

She looked suddenly horror struck.

"Oh, Harry, I'm sorry… No, of course I don't ‐ that was a really stupid thing to say."

"It's OK." he said quickly, "Don't worry."

"I'm surprised so many people could see them." Susan added. Five in a class…."

She was cut off by the loud laughter of the group of pureblood bigots who had been heckling in the class. It was obvious that they wanted to say something but it was well known that Potter at least was dangerous, and the guards were there, so they saved their comments for somewhere they thought that they'd be able to get away with them.

* * *

Over the next three or four weeks, they worked on the things they'd decided that they had to do, Xeno, the Delacours, Arthur, Sirius, Angela, Augusta and Amelia worked on processing everything for the unions and got them through. As Augusta had said, she, Angela and Amelia worked out a combined contract that ensured that Daphne and Astoria's father got nothing out of the deal, and the penalties if he or his wife ever mentioned it would wipe them out.

Augusta was still handling everything for the Longbottom family because while Frank and Alice seemed fine, they had over thirteen years to catch up on, let alone getting their heads around the changes their extended family had wrought in the past four years. Frank in particular was working hard at this so that he'd be ready to reclaim his seat in the Wizengamot at the next session. He and Alice totally agreed with the measures that had been taken and alliances entered into, and had no intention of changing anything, he just wanted to shake up the purebloods who'd contributed to the circumstances that had led to the hell that he and Alice had been in for the past thirteen years. Suddenly turning up in the Longbottom box in the Wizengamot, able to take on his responsibilities, thirteen years after they had all but been given up for dead would certainly do that!

Frank and Alice were also trying to understand James and Lily's boy. They were heartbroken to hear what his life had been like for six and a half years, and furious at Dumbledore for what happened to him and his parents, as well as them and their Neville, all because of the things that Dumbledore had done in an attempt to ensure that _his_ greater good would come about. They'd almost given the old bastard a heart attack when they turned up in his chambers to tear strips off of him, because he'd thought that they were ghosts at first. It was Harry who was the enigma though, how could he have mastered human, elf, goblin and veela magic enough to heal them and do everything else he had done?

How he could be be handling having four wives and four procreation unions at fourteen the way he was? They were shocked that their Neville and Susan were handling being in the procreation union for the House of Bones as well as they were, but Harry was in eight unions (as Potter, Gryffindfor, Flamel and Black) and it didn't seem to phase him! Augusta had told them that Harry had been betrothed to Hermione, his soul mate, at twelve and they'd been married for over a year, she'd even told them what Harry had done to protect the girls from being forced into betrothals and marriages with men who wanted to use them, but still, this _boy_ had obviously been a man by the time he arrived at Hogwarts.

They'd heard how he'd clashed with Dumbledore, Malfoy, Crouch and Fudge and ground those formidable foes under his heal. They'd heard how he'd faced terrible dangers and triumphed every time, they'd also heard how he'd more than trebled the fortune and power of the House of Potter in just a couple of years, and yet, unless he was forced to adopt the mien of Lord Potter, he was a polite, open, friendly boy… Yes, James and Lily's boy was certainly an enigma.

The results of Hagrid's 'review' came back, of course claiming that he was a totally inadequate teacher who was incapable of meeting Ministry Approved standards, but Hopkirk claimed she was too busy to have a meeting with the Headmistress to discuss this 'review'. Obviously she and Fudge thought that they had something in the works that would make her word irrefutable, but Fudge at least should have known better, considering that he'd been bested by the Potter Alliance before.


	21. Death Eaters and Revolution

**I know people have wanted to see the last of the Fudgetard (both of them I guess ;^), but I've been trying to use the original story timeline as far as possible, which has required Fudge Senior so far. I think we're ready to start playing Jenga with the ivory tower he's built for himself now though. ;^)**

 **Usual disclaimers, no rights to any characters portrayed and this is neither the real world nor a Disney Princess tale. (NB: Refer my profile if anyone's interested in the reasoning behind the disclaimer.)**

They didn't have to wait too long to see what Fudge and Hopkirk's next move would be, because four new 'Educational Decrees' came out a week before Hogwarts broke up for Christmas. The first gave Hopkirk the right to look into any and all aspects of the teachers and courses at Hogwarts. The second gave her the right to require changes to any subject at Hogwarts. The third cancelled students' rights to use private tutors instead of the regular classes, and the fourth gave her the incontestable right to dismiss any teacher who she'd already put on probation.

These were, of course, immediately followed by Hopkirk dismissing both Trelawney and Hagrid.

This resulted in an immediate meeting of the Hogwarts board, one that involved the Headmistress, Deputy Headmistress and the Governor of the Wizarding Examinations Authority. They looked at the two dismissals first, and while they couldn't show a strong case for arguing against Trelawney's dismissal, because she really was ineffectual and nothing worthwhile had come out of the Divination course for as long as she had been teaching it, they _could_ show a marked improvement in the majority of students' results in Care of Magical Creatures under Hagrid at both the OWL and NEWT levels, as well as the yearly results.

They then went through the recordings of her 'review' of Hagrid's class, as well as her forcing her way into his cottage to interrogate him as soon as he got back, Professor McGonagall's argument with Hopkirk and Fudge in Hopkirk's office (though the board were told that it had been Auror Tonks who set the mirrors in Hopkirk's office, rather than Harry), and Hopkirk's subsequent floo call to Fudge. These recordings showed quite clearly that the review of Hagrid's class and his dismissal were no more than an attempt at revenge for her being disciplined by the Headmistress for her actions in Hagrid's cottage, coupled with her blind bigotry about a _creature_ being allowed to teach at Hogwarts.

That led straight into the issue of what Fudge was trying to do to the education of students in Magical Britain, and why. They once again reviewed the lack of teaching qualifications and the abysmal results that Hopkirk had achieved in History of Magic as well as the rest of her subjects while she was at Hogwarts. They also went through what was now being taught in the History of Magic, and Madam Marchbanks was more incensed than anyone else to find that it was no more than propaganda material to support what Fudge was trying to tell everyone, that You Know Who had been killed in 1981 and anyone who said anything else was lying. When the Governor of the Wizarding Examinations Authority categorically states that nearly all students will _fail_ their OWL, NEWT and end of year examinations on the basis of what was being taught in that class, everyone takes notice.

While they were going through teaching qualifications and records, they went through Trelawney's and Hagrid's as well, and Trelawney's was little better than Hopkirk's. The initial response to Hagrid's expulsion was bad, until they went though his results up until he was expelled and viewed the memories which proved that he'd been framed by Tom Riddle (who later became Voldemort) and had been expelled purely on Riddle's word.

They then brought in the magical portrait of Armando Dippet, who'd been the Headmaster at the time, and he confirmed that Hagrid had been expelled on Riddle's word only, but he added that none of the Professors had argued against the expulsion. When asked about Dumbledore he was confused, saying that Dumbledore had only argued against sending the boy to Azkaban at fourteen and talked him into taking him on as an apprentice Gamekeeper, he hadn't said a word against expelling the boy. Even the traditional purebloods weren't about to argue against fighting Hagrid's dismissal on the basis of so much proof that he'd been framed and how good the students' results were with him as their teacher.

With the decisions made about Trelawney and Hagrid, the board went through the rest of the subject changes that Hopkirk was insisting on with Madam Marchbanks. Once again, Madam Marchbanks confirmed that if this was what the students were taught, they nearly all will fail their OWL, NEWT and end of year examinations.

On the basis of this, the members of the Hogwarts board called for an emergency Wizengamot session. Professor McGonagall and Madam Marchbanks went to the session with the board and all of the evidence that had come out of the meetings at Hogwarts, and Hopkirk, Fudge and the head of the Department of Magical Education were all summoned to the session.

It was amusing to see Hopkirk, Fudge and the head of the Department of Magical Education all trying to point fingers at each other and claim that they weren't responsible for the lies and manipulations that had prevailed through this. The results of the Wizengamot session were that Fudge's 'Educational Decrees' were all cancelled and permanently abolished, Fudge was told to stay well clear of Hogwarts and the Department of Magical Education, and the head of the Department of Magical Education was dismissed. Madam Marchbanks took over in his place, keeping the Wizarding Examinations Authority under her control as well. She was also given a place on the Hogwarts Board, so that the Department of Magical Education now had a say in the direction of Hogwarts, which was seen by almost all of the Wizengamot as a much more appropriate and effective way of doing what Fudge _claimed_ to have been trying to do.

The major issues being discussed in the emergency session were not enough to overshadow the furore that came from Lord Longbottom's return from the dead, as it were, and no-one could fault the mother's pride that the Chief Witch displayed when she welcomed her son back to the Wizengamot.

Professor McGonagall did need to find two new professors over the Christmas break, but it was for the History of Magic and Divination, as Hopkirk's head had been the first to go on the chopping block but Hagrid was definitely staying as the teacher for Care of Magical Creatures. The only changes for Hagrid were that his expulsion had been expunged, and he was required to sit his OWL and NEWT examinations so that his records would show that he was properly qualified to teach. He had to go through extensive study sessions, with most of the group helping him, to prepare him for his exams, but Madam Marchbanks, as the person who now controlled magical education in Britain, took the fifty years since his education had been unfairly terminated into account and allowed him until the end of the school year to revise for and do his exams.

Fudge got a seriously bloody nose out of the affair, but unfortunately he'd been slippery enough to avoid it being enough to topple him, not yet anyway. However, even though he managed to deflect much of the blame onto the head of the Department of Magical Education, it _was_ at least enough to stop him publicly shouting down anyone who was talking about concerns of Voldemort's return.

Professor McGonagall talked one of her peers, Winifred Somersby, into taking on the role of Professor of History of Magic. The feisty old witch was a noted historian and she brought a passion to the subject that no-one alive had ever experienced at Hogwarts (because Binns had been teaching the subject there longer than most people in Magical Britain had been alive). Professor Somersby was so good that Angela talked her into tutoring the Founders Group (they changed the name of the group, too) for extra money when she wasn't occupied with her regular classes.

Hogwarts' new Divination Professor was a very controversial choice, because Professor McGonagall hired Firenze, the centaur, to replace Trelawney. The traditional purebloods on the Hogwarts board initially baulked at allowing a _centaur_ to teach the students, but it was Madam Marchbanks who pointed out that the Divination students at Hogwarts been taught for over a quarter of a century by a fruitcake who's one and only true prediction had been given _before_ Dumbledore hired her and that had definitely showed in how unsuccessful her students had been. Madam Marchbanks noted that, if not for Dumbledore refusing to dismiss her, Trelawney's inadequacy probably would have seen her gone within six months. She also pointed out that Firenze was one of the reliable seers that centaurs often produced, so with him directing them, any students who actually had a talent for divination would have a far better chance of finding it than they ever had with Trelawney. That had been enough to see any resistance buckle, as they knew it would.

Unfortunately for Firenze, his agreeing to work for the humans was the last straw for the more ardent traditionalists in his herd. They argued that he had already brought shame on the herd by carrying Harry out of the forest back when he saved him from Voldemort in his first year, so submitting to the humans again by working for them led to him being beaten half to death and ejected from the herd, and they told him that if he ever returned to the forbidden forest again, he'd be killed. He was sworn a place in the centaur herd at Potter Manor if he ever chose to leave Hogwarts, but being banished from his own herd and the forest where he was born like that was terribly hard blow for him.

They obviously had to move the Divination classroom for Firenze to teach the subject, because he couldn't climb the ladder up into the room at the top of the tower, so Divination was now taught in a room on the ground floor that had been magically expanded and transformed into a forest glade. The Divination classroom also served as Firenze's chambers.

* * *

While successfully dealing with Fudge trying to force everyone at Hogwarts to only say what he wanted them to was important, there was something even more important that the family had to deal with over the Christmas break. The goblins were pretty much certain that they'd tracked down the location of one of the last two horcruxes, because they'd almost lost the team of curse breakers who tried to retrieve it. What had almost got them was the serpent magic which protected the site, and they only knew of two parseltongues who were available to deal with this, Harry and Ginny. This meant that they'd had to wait for Harry to try and deal with the protections and retrieve the horcrux.

When they were taken to the cottage by portkey, Harry looked up on the nearby hillside and saw the big house that Voldemort had pointed out from the graveyard that night, which confirmed that the goblins were correct in his mind. The curse breakers informed him that the cottage had belonged to Tom Riddle's mother's family, and the wards were apparently created in parseltongue. They actually seemed to use some kind of spirit snakes, and the healers were still trying to heal the curse breakers who'd been attacked when they tried to get to the cottage.

When the curse breakers showed him what happened to the first team and how to cast the detection spells to display the wards, Harry snorted. The wards were cast in parseltongue alright, but they were ridiculously simple. Voldemort was obviously so enamoured with his own brilliance and sure that he was the only parseltongue in existence that he couldn't imagine any possibility that anyone but him would be able to disable the defences. Thanks to this, it only took a matter of minutes to get the team safely into the cottage. A quick scan for dark objects, followed by other scans to identify and disable the last of the defences, had the horcrux in their hands and the goblins grinned with delight as they took in the vindictive pleasure that Harry displayed as he was reapplying the defences in parseltongue, adding extra layers and traps that Voldemort hadn't thought of. They set magical devices to monitor the site, so they'd be notified if and when Voldemort tried to recover the horcrux.

Once they had taken the ring they discovered in the cottage back to Gringotts and cleansed it, it presented quite a quandary, as it was obviously an object of great power but none of them could identify it or its purpose. All that they had managed to ascertain so far was that it was an heirloom of the Peverell family, which had been extinct in the male line since the beginning of the fourteenth century but Harry was a descendent of. The goblins kept the ring locked away in Harry's personal vault unless they were examining it.

* * *

Starting back after the Christmas break, the announcement of the new teacher for the History of Magic brought a cheer from the students, because Hopkirk _had_ managed to be worse than Binns, as impossible as anyone found that idea to contemplate. Upon the announcement that the new Divination teacher was a centaur however, the Great Hall erupted in an torrent of disbelief and outrage from students of pureblood families that they were expected to learn from a _creature_. They had been prepared for this, and Madam Marchbanks was on hand to address the issue. It was unclear whether it was to compensate for her own hearing issues or to ensure that she had everyone's attention, but the sonorus spell she used when she shouted _**"Silence!"**_ almost deafened everyone in the Great Hall.

Madam Marchbanks brusquely informed them that anyone disrespecting _Professor_ Firenze would be dealt with severely, but any students not comfortable with learning from him would be permitted to remove themselves from Divination without penalty. She was less accommodating when presented with demands that students who withdrew from Divination be given a suitable alternative so that they would not suffer any detriment for having one less subject. She thundered at them that Professor Firenze was far more qualified to teach the subject than Miss Trelawney had been, so if they refused to learn from him purely because of his species, they did not deserve anything. More than a few female students ran out of the Great Hall in tears at that.

Those students who did manage to change from Divination to Muggle Studies were even more outraged to find that it was now a serious course that they had to work, and make an effort, in to get reasonable results. As soon as she was confirmed as the Headmistress, Professor McGonagall had sat Professor Burbage down and informed her that her course was a farce, and Hogwarts did not waste its students' time by teaching them a hodgepodge of fallacies and inaccuracies. Professor Burbage had embraced this, as she truly wanted to teach her students something worthwhile, and with the Tonks' (and Hermione's as well occasionally) assistance and the aid of a muggle room like Harry had implemented at Potter Manor, she had turned the Muggle Studies course into something that would teach them how to understand and operate in the non-magical world better, much to many of her students' chagrin at the increased workload.

Professor McGonagall had had a similar discussion with Sybill Trelawney about her Divination course, but Trelawney's reaction was that there was no better way to teach the fine art of Divination than what she was doing, so she refused to consider making any changes. Professor McGonagall had never had much respect for Trelawney with her attitude and bizarre ways anyway, so this and the abysmal results of the students in her class salved her conscience in the matter of allowing her dismissal to go through without any serious attempt to overturn it.

* * *

The changes to the courses and teachers were completely overshadowed by something else a couple of weeks after they returned from the Christmas break though, because they were woken in the middle of the night by a mirror call from Madam Bones. There had been a massive breakout of Death Eaters from Azkaban. When the regular patronus message from the Auror she had stationed at Azkaban didn't come through, she'd sent a team out there to find the wards down, most of the guards murdered, and the dementors gone, along with a few of the human guards and over forty five Death Eaters that they had had locked up there.

The Daily Prophet had an early edition out at dawn with the names, pictures and crimes of all the escaped Death Eaters, as well as the missing guards with warnings to be careful if they were sighted as their disappearance was highly suspicious. The public was asked to call the DMLE immediately if any of these men or women were sighted, but stay away from them. There was an emergency Wizengamot session first thing in the morning, and Fudge jumped in to try and put most of the blame on Madam Bones, as well as alluding to the fact that it was suspicious that several of the escaped Death Eaters were related by blood or marriage to the only known previous escapee from Azkaban.

If Fudge thought that his previous supporters would have stood behind him when he made a play like that, he was seriously mistaken, as the vast majority of the Wizengamot were cheering Harry on when he popped down to the floor of the chamber with the Sword of Gryffindor blazing into existence in his hand. Fudge tried to run, but found his way blocked by Aurors loyal to the head of the DMLE, and these Aurors obeyed Lord Potter when he ordered them to put the Minister in the witness chair. No-one missed the fact that the Chief Witch had secured the Minister of Magic into the chair like any other accused without question.

The Wizengamot ignored Fudge's threats and complaints as the Director of the DMLE ordered, at Lord Potter's request, for veritaserum to be administered to the witness as the majority of them were looking forward to the show that they were sure was about to start. For this reason, no-one objected when Lord Potter requested leave to ask the Minister a few questions before it was opened to the floor.

"Has Madam Bones formally requested that the dementors be removed from Azkaban?"

"Yes."

"How many times had she requested this?"

"I don't know, at least a dozen, I just get my assistants to send back a standard memorandum to reject the request."

"What reason has Madam Bones given for requesting the dementors' removal?"

"She says that they cannot be trusted to follow the orders of the Ministry and they will defect as soon as the Dark Lord calls for them."

"Why have you rejected the Director of the DMLE's requests, what reasons did you have for rejecting them?"

"The dementors have mostly followed our orders to date, and so far we've been able to cover up what they did when they ignored them. I also couldn't afford to admit that the Dark Lord can come back as it would undermine the trust the people have in me."

"Do you know that the Dark Lord has returned?"

"Yes, of course! You showed us the proof of that after you brought young Diggory's body back from that graveyard."

The muttering that was spreading through the Wizengamot didn't bode well for Fudge.

"Has the Director of the DMLE also requested that the warden and several of the guards at Azkaban be replaced."

"Yes."

"Did you reject these requests, and if so, why?"

"She claimed to have proof of their association with the Dark Lord and his supporters. I rejected her requests because I was instructed to by my supporters."

"Who were the supporters who instructed you to do this?"

Fudge named Malfoy, Avery and half a dozen others, two of whom were in the chamber and were arrested by the Aurors.

Harry then named the missing guards and asked if they were among the names that the Director of the DMLE had requested be replaced and Fudge confirmed that they were.

After looking up at Sirius, Harry asked. "Were Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange, her husband and her brother-in-law the prisoners who you were referring to as being related to Lord Black by blood and marriage?"

"Yes."

"Are you aware that Lord Black formally banished Bellatrix Lestrange from the Black Family and forced the dissolution of her and her sister Narcissa Malfoy's marriages as soon as he assumed the role of Head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black?"

"Yes."

"So you are aware of the fact that Lord Black vehemently rejects any Black family members who would connect the House of Black with Voldemort and his supporters?"

"Yes."

"Then why were you trying to insinuate that Lord Black had aided those who had been connected to the Black family before he formally banished them from the Black Family?"

"I had to put the blame on Black and Bones for this escape and take people's attention away from me."

"Minister Fudge, have you ever knowingly aided Voldemort and his supporters?"

"Yes."

"Tell us the date of each occurrence and what you did for them each time."

Fudge talked for the next fifteen to twenty minutes about what he had knowingly done for Malfoy and his other supporters who served Voldemort. He stopped talking when the veritaserum wore off, but by then it was a moot point, there was no recovering from what he'd admitted to.

He refused to answer the other Wizengamot members' questions until threatened with more veritaserum, but by the end of the questioning it was a given that he was finished. It was only the Minister of Magic's automatic immunity from prosecution that stopped him from being arrested then and there. They allowed Harry to call for the vote of no confidence in the Minister, as no-one wanted to cross the angry young Lord at that point.

With the almost unanimous vote to get rid of Fudge, Harry called on Amos Diggory and asked whether he would accept consideration to take on the role of Minister to lead them in fight to defeat Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Harry had not forgotten what Mr Diggory had said to Fudge the night that Cedric was killed, and while he may not have the background to be the Minister in a time of peace, he was one of the few that Harry was prepared to trust to lead the Ministry in a war against Voldemort.

Mister Diggory stood and said that he would accept the responsibility if chosen for the duration of the war, and the Chief Witch called for any other nominations on that basis. A few other names were put forward, but most had dubious affiliations or were obviously just looking for a chance to fill their pockets. When the Chief Witch called for a vote, most of the Wizengamot followed Harry's lead and voted for Amos Diggory, because being on the wrong side of _this_ Lord Potter was something that few of them cared to be.

With Amos instated as the new Minister of Magic, they launched into their plans to recapture the prisoners and deal with them and their master. The fact that the DMLE and the Potter Alliance already had a great deal of information on the subject and were obviously working together on this wasn't lost on the Wizengamot, and the momentum of the new Minister and Madam Bones working together got the call for everyone in the Wizengamot and Ministry checked for Voldemort's dark mark carried.

The panic in the room when that motion was passed was understood when three of the Wizengamot and four more ministry officials in the gallery were found to have the dark mark, and they were quickly questioned under veritaserum and processed.

Looking at Fudge, Harry called for a vote to get a proper accounting of the Ministry's coffers before they finished the session. Those with anything to hide tried to argue against the vote, but it went through and the Ministry's account managers were brought in from Gringotts to report on the state of the Ministry's vaults. The chambers were sealed and everyone was held there until the accounting was done.

Harry and the family weren't surprised to hear that most of the fortunes that had been taken off the prominent Death Eaters who were arrested in the past couple of years had since disappeared. Senior ministry officials were dragged into the Wizengamot session by Aurors and they and Fudge were questioned about the large transfers they'd authorised from the Ministry vaults that held the seized funds. The accounts that those funds had been transferred to were also examined and Gringotts got details of where the funds had gone to after that. Well over half of the funds had ultimately ended up in Death Eater hands, and most of the remainder was still sitting in the vaults of the ones they had been siphoned off to. About seventy percent of the funds were recovered to the Ministry vaults and a further four Wizengamot members and six senior Ministry officials were arrested and processed.

By now a good portion of the Wizengamot was shouting that the goblins had breached their agreements by giving out details of the transfers, but they in turn pointed out that they were required to recover moneys unlawfully removed from their clients' vaults, and that was what they were doing.

The looks going Fudge's way made it fairly clear that his life expectancy was almost certainly less than Harry's now. He may be immune from prosecution for what he'd done up to now, but crossing those who had been paying to keep him in his position as Minister, and even more importantly Voldemort's people, was something that would never be forgotten, or forgiven. When he begged Amelia for protection, she told him that that was a decision that the Minister would have to make. He rushed over to beg to Amos, but he just looked at him as the shite that he was, saying. "You've taken millions of galleons from the ones who murdered my son Fudge, you can pay for your own protection!"

"But Amos, his people are killers!"

"Who's people? The one who you kept telling everyone was just a figment of an unstable boy's over active imagination?" He turned to look at Harry. "Lord Potter? I believe that was the phrase that was used, was it not?"

Harry nodded to him. "Yes Minister Diggory, I believe that you are correct in what was said." He dismissed Fudge then before he addressed Amos and Amelia.

"We have to build up the Ministry's forces to deal with Voldemort and his followers, but if we want to have any hope of fighting them, we cannot afford the risk of allowing any of his followers to remain inside the Ministry. Would you consider requiring all current Ministry employees and any new hires to swear an oath on their magic and their life that they do not now, and nor will they ever, knowingly support Voldemort or his followers?"

That stopped them for a moment, and they looked at each other. No-one had ever taken measures this drastic before, but then no-one had seriously opposed Voldemort before either. If they wanted to avoid having thousands upon thousands of muggles and citizens of Magical Britain being raped, tortured and killed like they were last time, they _had_ to take drastic measures. Amelia was the first to respond. "I can't make any decisions for the rest of the Ministry Lord Potter but yes, I can and will enforce that oath within the DMLE, if we can't trust the people we're using to go after them then we don't have a chance, Minister?"

Amos nodded slowly. "Yes, we're at war and every time we turn around we're finding more of his people in our midst, we cannot win like that. Anyone who refuses to take the oath is to be detained and questioned under veritaserum, agreed Amelia?" Amelia nodded.

Amos turned to look at the Wizengamot members. "What about them?" Harry shook his head. "While they are free to take the oath and I for one will do so, I don't think that we can force that on the Wizengamot members Sir, not being allowed to support anyone going against the current Ministry's laws and rules can be enforced on anyone working for the Ministry, but holding a seat and voting rights in the Wizengamot does not require you to abide by the rules of the current Ministry, or we wouldn't have been able to get rid of Fudge the way we just did. There _is_ something that we could do if you were prepared to formally declare any Death Eater a criminal and subject to arrest and processing though?"

Amos gave Harry a feral grin. "I'm listening Lord Potter?"

"We can set the Ministry wards to react to anyone bearing Voldemort's dark mark or carrying the taint of his magic. That way, any Wizengamot members or Ministry visitors who have been marked by Voldemort or had serious dealings with him can be detained, questioned and processed?"

Amos and Amelia looked at each other and nodded. With that, Amos asked Amelia to publicly take his oath, then he'd take her's and then he'd announce that everyone in the Ministry would be required to take the same oath, he'd also declare that all Death Eaters were criminals and were subject to arrest and processing. They quietly had a word to Augusta, as the Chief Witch, and she gave Amos the floor.

Hearing the oath each of them gave, and then hearing that everyone in the Ministry would be required to give the same oath and all Death Eaters were declared criminals caused a small rush for the door, but they were all prevented from leaving. Of the two dozen Aurors in the chambers, three refused to take the oath and were arrested. The fact that half of the twenty other Ministry employees who were in the chambers refused to take the oath didn't bode well, but they were hopeful that that was because they were there on orders to find out what was going to be done about the breakout. They also uncovered another four in the gallery who were marked Death Eaters. Finding out just how many Death Eaters were still in their midst was worrying.

Harry, Angela, Augusta, Sirius, Frank and over a dozen other Wizengamot members also took the oath to prove that they were not affiliated with Voldemort in any way.

* * *

That day went down in the history of Magical Britain as a momentous day, because there had been so many events of great import that there were _two_ special editions of the Daily Prophet issued. People were frightened and confused to wake to the news that over forty five Death Eaters, the dementors and some turned guards had disappeared from Azkaban overnight. They were even more confused when a second special edition arrived before dinner to tell them that Fudge had confessed to having knowingly aided Voldemort and his followers and had been thrown out of the Ministry. Many of the sheep refused to believe what Fudge had done, even though transcripts of his confession were included in the paper.

The immunity for past acts that is awarded to the Minister of Magic was explained, and the Prophet's reporter recounted the calls that were made in the Wizengamot to repeal that ruling so that Fudge could be charged for working for You Know Who, all the while he was accusing Lord Potter of being a delusional liar for trying to warn people that Voldemort was back.

The announcement that the Wizengamot had used the proof that Death Eaters had mostly lied about being under the imperius curse to suspend the purebloods' right to refuse to be questioned under veritaserum, and that it was tabled to be abolished within the week struck fear into the hearts of many Voldemort supporters. Many of them started scrabbling to get out of the country, not knowing about the triggers that had already been set up to to generate alerts when anyone suddenly tried to get portkeys or transfer significant amounts of money out of the country. Anyone caught trying this was questioned, and if the interviewer wasn't satisfied with the answers, they could be questioned under veritaserum.

Some were allowed to take their money and leave, but that was mostly muggleborns and half-bloods who wanted to get their families out of Britain before they were targeted like their kind had been in the last war against Voldemort. Some were arrested, but most were allowed to leave, _without_ their money. Their money was held in their vaults at Gringotts until they returned and/or the war was over, but any large transactions they requested were examined to determine whether they were going to Voldemort supporters.

The second Special Edition also reported how Amos Diggory was the new Minister of Magic, at least until Voldemort and his followers were defeated, at which time he announced that he wanted to step down. It covered the discovery of the fortunes that had been siphoned out of the Ministry to Voldemort's followers and the private vaults by Fudge and others, and how nearly three quarters of it had been recovered, with most of those involved being arrested.

Amos and Amelia had used the second special edition to announce the fact that the Ministry was using the recovered money to hire witches and wizards to expand the Auror's office for the fight against Voldemort and his followers, and also to replace the others in the Ministry who had been exposed as working for Voldemort and arrested and/or dismissed. The traditional purebloods were outraged by the notice that the old blood rules no longer applied to employment and advancement in the Ministry for the duration of the war, and that the Minister's expectation was that they would be abolished before the war was finished.

Another notice that worried even more than angered many purebloods was that with the new Minister's support, the proposal from the Potter Alliance to replace the nine seats in the Wizengamot that had been vacated by the arrests in the emergency Wizengamot session with notable and respected muggleborn or muggle raised members of their society was carried. The primary intent of this motion was to give the muggleborns a voice in a time where their kind was at great risk, to this end they were given the right to hold the thirty five votes that the ones that they replaced had held, so that their voice would be heard.

Before they crawled back to their beds in Hogwarts and Potter Manor, Harry brokered the arrangements with the Head Goblin to have the Ministry's wards updated as discussed with the Minister, and Hogwarts' and St Mungo's as well. Potter Manor's wards already incorporated these protections and more.

They were quite aware that after what they'd used the shock of the Death Eaters' breakout and the groundswell of outrage at Fudge's betrayal to push through, every one of them was now even more of a target for Voldemort and his followers. The new Minister of Magic and Wizengamot members had strong wards placed over their homes as they would also become targets. Amelia was safe enough, as she just went from living at Potter Manor _most_ of the time, to living there all the time. Augusta, Frank and Alice also moved in full time, as did anyone else in the family who wasn't there, or at Hogwarts. Between the wards and the centaur and goblin guards, there was no safer place to be.

* * *

The next morning at breakfast, the Great Hall was in an uproar, because between the fifty Wizengamot, Ministry and other other people arrested the day before and the forty five escaped Death Eaters, there were a good many students' families effected by the events of the previous day, not to mention Ronald Fudge, who's father had been chained, questioned under veritaserum and thrown out in disgrace as the figurehead of those who were beneath contempt.

At Luna and Harry's request, Hogwarts had suppressed any wizarding magic being used within the Great Hall, which meant that the elves, goblins, Professor Flitwick and Harry and his family who could use other magic were the only ones who could use magic in there. This was proven to be quite a sensible precaution when they saw the ones, like Ronald Fudge, who were trying to curse them for what had happened. Anyone seen trying to do this had their wands confiscated, and the guards and Aurors didn't miss seeing many of them.

When the prior incanto spell was cast on the wands, over twenty were serious enough to have their owners expelled and have their wands broken, and five of the older students were arrested so they would be reunited with their parents in prison. The only thing that saved Ronald Fudge was that he was incapable of casting a serious curse, so his punishment was restricted to Hogwarts.

What no-one but Amos Diggory knew outside of the family was that Madam Bones had reinstated Frank, Alice and Moody as Aurors under her direct control, along with making Remus, Harry, Hermione, Fleur, Arthur, Fred, George, Katie, Angelina, Bill, Charlie and Xeno Aurors, adding them to Angela, Sirius and Tonks. This meant that Madam Bones had a significant and capable off the books Auror force who were dedicated to protecting their family and stopping Voldemort. She also added the other students in the family as Trainee Aurors, under Angela's control, so that in the event of them being caught up in any activity against Voldemort and his followers, they would all be operating in an official capacity.

* * *

One of Minister Diggory's first duties was to inform the Muggle Prime Minister of the threat that the escaped Death Eaters and their master represented. The Prime Minister was angry to find how much had been kept from him and how much Fudge had lied about in what he had told him, and demanded that the true facts be presented to the Queen. Amos called for Amelia to come and help him explain all of this to the Muggle Queen, and at her suggestion, they included Harry in the party, because he'd seen things first hand that they hadn't.

After Amos introduced Amelia as the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, she took over the introductions, because while the head of a Minor House, Amos didn't quite grasp all the intricacies of the Noble Houses of Magical Britain. She first clarified her own position as the regent for her niece, the Heir to the Noble and Ancient House of Bones, listing the primary title of Countess and her subsidiary titles under that, then she introduced Harry, as the Head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter, listing the primary title of Marquess and his subsidiary titles, Head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Gryffindor, with the primary title of Earl and subsidiary titles, Head of the French Noble and Ancient House of Flamel, with the primary title of Comte and subsidiary titles, and Heir to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, with the primary title of Marquess and subsidiary titles.

The Queen and her Prime Minister were shocked and horrified by what they heard about Voldemort and his Death Eaters' activities. They also found it hard to believe that this quiet teenager held multiple titles from Marquess down to Baronet and Laird in three separate Noble Houses of Magical Britain and France, and was also the heir to another British Magical Noble House with titles from Marquess on down. The Queen made a note of the houses to have her people look into them, because as hard as it was to believe, she did not believe that these people were likely to make empty boasts, which made the stories they were told about this young man's actions all the more incredible.

When the Queen made a comment about Harry making some lucky young woman a wonderful husband one day and he just blushed, she looked at the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement for an explanation. Amelia looked at Harry, and then Amos, and then she explained. "Harry already has a wife Your Majesty, four of them in fact."

At the Queen's look of horror, Amelia rushed to explain. "I'm sorry Ma'am, I think I need to explain how things work in our world. In Magical Britain, all unions and contracts are defined by the magical bonds between the parties. Harry's best friend from when he started school at Hogwarts when he was eleven, Hermione, is also his soul mate. So, when they were discussing how they felt about each other when Harry was twelve and Hermione had just turned thirteen, due to their bond, that was magically accepted as a betrothal." She drew a breath before she continued.

"Our world has some terrible and exploitive marriage laws going back centuries that were enacted to ensure that the noble houses and bloodlines didn't die out, and an attempt was made to force two girls who were at Hogwarts in their third year there into betrothal contracts. If successful, they then would have been married by being deflowered, not by their choice. Harry's regent, the Longbottom Regent and I managed to block those betrothals in the Wizengamot, but when we told the girls what had almost happened and were trying to work our how to protect them from that, one of the other girls in the group who's parents had been trying to force her to trap Harry into marriage so that she became Lady Potter reminded us of the rules, as well as another rule that blocks betrothals if the girl isn't a virgin. Harry agreed to help protect the girls with Hermione's support…."

The Queen gave her a shocked look and Amelia nodded. "Yes Ma'am." before continuing. "Hermione's primary condition in this was that they would be each other's first. She knew that they would be wed once they did this, so her and most of the other girls' parents were brought in and they all agreed to the necessity of doing this, therefore Harry became married at thirteen to Hermione, making her Lady Potter. Then, when he'd just turned fourteen, one of the other girls in the group, Luna, was accepted as the true heir of the Noble and Most Ancient Houses of Ravenclaw and Slytherin, both of which carried the primary title of Earl, or Countess in her case. This made it no longer acceptable for her to be a vassal of the House of Potter, which she had been from before Harry and Hermione became betrothed, so they followed the process required to rescind that, but they were worried about her being a prime target for people who wanted to control her titles and power, so as a girl cannot be in more than one union at a time, she entered into a formal procreation union with Harry as the head of the House of Gryffindor to allow her to continue the line and name of the House of Ravenclaw. Actually Luna is an exception, because as the female head of two Noble and Most Ancient Houses she entered into procreation unions with Harry for both Houses."

"You see Ma'am, one of the other girls, one of the ones who we blocked the forced betrothal for actually, had already entered into one of these procreation unions with Harry as the head of the House of Flamel to continue the line and name of the French Noble and Ancient House of Delacour…. I'm sorry Ma'am, this is something else which should probably be explained. You see while Fleur, Mademoiselle Delacour, appears to be a beautiful young woman, she is not actually human, she is a veela. The veela have many abilities that human women don't have, and one of those is the ability to put a hold on a pregnancy until they are ready to proceed, so while she became pregnant when Harry helped her, she put that pregnancy on hold until she had finished her schooling at the end of that year, then she entered into the procreation union with Harry and released the hold on her pregnancy. Fleur is the heir of Comte Delacour, the Deputy Minister of Magic for France."

"After Luna entered into the procreation unions with Harry and highlighted the risk that the girls were exposed to, I broached the matter of my niece Susan, as the heir to the House of Bones, entering into a similar procreation union with her friend Neville, as the heir to the Noble and Ancient House of Longbottom, to continue the line and name of the House of Bones with Neville's grandmother, who is his regent. When she raised the matter with him, Hermione pointed out that we could also protect the other girls through similar unions. They worked out that Daphne, the other girl we blocked the forced betrothal for, could go into a procreation union with Harry as the heir to the House of Black to continue the line and name of the Noble House of Greengrass and Luna's father could make her adopted sister Padma his heir in her place for a procreation contract with Harry as Lord Potter to maintain the name of the Noble House of Lovegrass, but then they were stuck for the three younger sisters who couldn't enter into procreation unions because they weren't in line as the heir."

"That was when Fleur pointed out that Harry could marry them, as the marriages could be rescinded almost as easily as the procreation unions if and when the girls found themselves someone or were no longer in danger, so Gabrielle Delacour became Lady Flamel, Astoria Greengrass became Lady Black and Ginevra Weasley became Lady Gryffindor. So that is why Harry has four wives Ma'am. Hermione, Lady Potter, is his true love, and he's protecting the other girls by marrying them or using the procreation unions under his other houses."

The Queen was looking wide eyed at them by the time Amelia finished. By necessity, she understood the history of the aristocracy quite well and understood that this had been common practice centuries ago, but it was hard to believe that anyone still followed those archaic rules, let alone that children in their early teens were needing to go to these lengths to protect one another from these disgusting forms of Noble House politics. She drew a breath and bowed her head regally at Harry.

"We stand corrected Lord Potter, you are a most remarkable young man and we feel confident that you _are_ a wonderful husband to all of your wives."

Harry bowed his head to her, still blushing. "Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Minister Diggory, we hope that we may rely on you to keep our Prime Minister appraised of any issues which may endanger people in our realm?"

Amos also bowed his head to her. "Yes, Your Majesty. If any activities of Voldemort and his people appear likely to cross over into the non-magical world, we will notify the Prime Minister immediately and render any assistance we can."

They all paid their respects to the Queen and then departed, Amos and Amelia heading back for long hours in the office to review what progress had been made on hunting Voldemort and the Death Eaters.

* * *

In the week following the breakout, they managed to recapture the Azkaban guards and over a dozen Death Eaters. The Aurors raided the warden's home and captured two of the guards there, but they weren't quick enough to prevent the escape of the others, or the mistreatment of the warden's widow at their hands. They captured over a dozen more through the traps they had set at the Malfoy and Lestrange Manors (the wards had been set to allow people to apparate, portkey or floo in, but _not_ out) and raids on other known Voldemort supporters' homes, but someone in Voldemort's group must have managed to make the voice of reason be heard, because they obviously went to ground after that. The only prominent Death Eaters that they recaptured in that first week were Rabastan Lestrange, who was caught in the trap at Lestrange Manor when he went there to reclaim their house for his master, and Peter Pettigrew, who was caught while trying to live the high life in the manor of one of the Noble House Death Eaters.

Amos did appreciate being able to tell the Prime Minister that they'd captured and dealt with over a quarter of those who'd escaped, even if it did feel as though they'd achieved far less than they should have.

What they were doing to the Death Eaters and Voldemort followers who went to Azkaban now was crippling their magic. Snapping their wands was enough to temporarily subdue most wizards, but they could still be a threat if they got other wands, so when they were captured, they were all given new trials and if what they had done and were willing to do for their master was heinous enough (as it usually was), they were either put through the veil or had their magical cores crippled so that they were no more than squibs when they were sent back to Azkaban.

The investigations of the ones who were arguing most vocally about treating pureblood witches and wizards this way ended up in another three seats in the Wizengamot being vacated. These were also replaced by muggleborns, bringing the muggleborn block to a dozen seats and fifty votes. Between them and the Potter Alliance, they now controlled nearly half of the seats and _over_ half of the votes in the Wizengamot. Those who opposed them in the Wizengamot were now being very careful about what they said.

An interesting but unwelcome development in this was that the 'light' families were now opposing them almost as strongly as the 'dark' families, both because they still held to the beliefs that Dumbledore had sold them on and because ultimately they, like him and the 'dark' families, held the rights of the 'pureblood' families over everyone else's to be sacrosanct. Naturally, neither the 'light', nor the 'dark' were at all happy about the fact that the Potter Alliance, the muggleborn block and the more progressive neutral families held well over two thirds of the power in the Wizengamot.


	22. Dreams and Altercations

**I've had a couple of reviews recently on the first chapter that I'd like to address. It seems that some readers think that poor widdle Won Won was unfairly dealt with on the Hogwarts Express on the way to Hogwarts. To others who may hold that view, I'd ask you to consider this, put yourselves in eleven year old Harry's place.**

 **While your first fifteen months had a reasonable amount of love and happiness, at that point, both of your parents are murdered by a psychopath, with your mother being killed right in front of you. _Then,_ you are dumped on the doorstep of a couple who should not be allowed anywhere near children, at night, _in the middle of winter_ , by a delusional megalomaniac who has decided that it is right and proper for him to sacrifice anyone _else_ to his ' _greater good'_ , even if it's an infant. **

**This is the start of six and a half years of unending starvation, hard labour and appalling physical and emotional and god knows what other types of abuse, until being wrenched up off the floor by his monster of an uncle by the arm that he'd just had broken causes Harry to almost pass out from the pain and send enough of a signal for the Potter family's house elves to come and rescue him.**

 **Moving forward three and a quarter years, Harry is on his way to Hogwarts on the Hogwarts Express for the first time, mindful of the concerns and warnings of his ancestors, his parents' friends who were his de-facto guardians and the caring and faithful house elves who have looked after him from the day that they rescued him. A boy all but forces his way into his compartment with an obvious cock and bull story that sets him on edge, and then proceeds to put on a boy-who-lived fanboy act and sprout crap until Harry is convinced that his misgivings were well founded, but he plays along, generously buying large amounts of sweets that he gets precious little of because the other boy does his best to grab anything Harry is reaching for and stuffs it in his mouth before he can get to it.**

 **Another student comes by, trying to help someone find the toad that he's lost, and as she's escaping before the boy's manners (or more to the point, lack thereof) make her physically ill, she reminds them that they need to get their school robes on as they're almost there. Harry gets his trunk down to get his robes, but when he turns around to ask the boy something, he finds him standing there, wearing nothing but his dirty underpants and making no effort at all to get dressed as he's trying to make sure he snaffles any sweets that are left before they're put away.**

 **Harry asks him what he's doing, gets an inane response about looking for chocolate frogs and demands that he put his robes on. The boy makes a point of standing there in his dirty underpants while he tries to argue, so Harry sends a stinging hex at his sensitive bits to try and force him to cover up, and has to send another because he's determined to stand there and argue rather than doing so. When the boy _finally_ covers himself, he starts screaming at Harry, but the last straw is when he taunts Harry about being a little prince, born with a silver spoon in his mouth and how he'll enjoy seeing him cut down to size in the dorms. At _that_ point, Harry reacts and gives him a knee to the family jewels as he is forced to remember all of the pain and abuse that he had to endure at the hands of his _loving relative_ _s_.**

 **OK, that's the imagery that was going through my head when I was writing that, and I thought I'd captured it in what I wrote, so I cannot really see how _anyone_ could think that poor widdle Won Won was hard done by in that scene. I certainly would have reacted more violently than that to taunts of that nature if I'd even had even the mildest interpretation of Harry's canon experience with the Dursleys. FWIW**

 **A small adjustment was made back in Ballgowns and Bubbleheads to correct an oversight in continuity. IE: Katie and Angelina joined the group, became vassals and moved into the Tower for protection around the same time as Fleur, Daphne and Astoria and the group is now called the Founders Group.**

 **NB: Pardon me for preening for a moment, but a steampunk anthology with my first _officially_ published short story is coming out on the Fifth of November. The anthology is called Den of Antiquity and it will be available from Barnes  & Noble, Amazon among other sites. Quite chuffed, we are, now if I could only finish the novel that the short story is growing into and get publishers to look seriously at it and my other full novels. ;^) **

**Usual disclaimers, no rights to any characters portrayed and this is neither the real world nor a Disney Princess tale.**

While the changes to the Ministry and Wizengamot were going on, the students at Hogwarts still had to get on with their studies, especially the ones who were taking their NEWTs that year (including nine of those who made up the Founders Group). The ones in the Founders Group were hardly stretched by this, because they'd all been studying beyond their years for as long as they'd been together, if not before, but the NEWTs were important, as were the OWLs that the other five were taking for that matter.

With Luna established as the Head of the Noble and Ancient Houses of Ravenclaw and Slytherin, the question of where the five taking their OWLs would be studying for their NEWTs had been decided at least. They had been planning on having them doing their last year at Potter Manor, because without Harry they'd lose the protections of Founder Tower and the guards that they'd had ever since Harry started at Hogwarts. With Luna carrying the same status though, these protections could be carried over at Hogwarts for their final year, so they could safely continue to study there under the same masters as the others had to finish their education.

At the same time, Fleur's pregnancy was progressing well, and she was getting bigger and bigger all the time. They had been getting worried about how big she was getting actually, until the veela healers confirmed that she was having twins, something quite rare for veela. Her parents had wanted her stay with them in France until the babies were born, but the healers supported her when she insisted on staying at Hogwarts with her bond mates (Harry, Hermione and Gabrielle), because they could give her extra energy to help her and the babies through the pregnancy. The ambient magic that Hogwarts herself provided also fed Fleur's energy and assisted in their growth and well being.

Madam Bones and her Aurors were having little success in tracking down Voldemort and the rest of his followers. This was largely because Voldemort's people were keeping a lower profile than they had in the last war. There were isolated attacks against muggles, but these seemed to be mainly for the purpose of 'blooding' the new recruits that they'd drawn to their cause, and they'd generally be gone by the time the Aurors arrived.

Minister Diggory and Madam Bones were having regular discussions with the muggle Prime Minister about the situation. Luckily, the records on the non-magical side had been well maintained and the Prime Minister could see that the attacks were indeed far less than they had been last time, and this time the Ministry of Magic was sharing information to help his police and military teams deal with the Death Eaters if they came across them.

The twins helped in this actually, because while they were working on establishing their business, producing and marketing joke and pranking supplies, they had many other brilliant ideas that they developed. Among these were wearable omniocular goggles that incorporated rune based charms to let muggles see past the anti-muggle wards and charms, as well as other enhancements beyond normal omnioculars, such as seeing through disillusionment charms. They had originally come up with these for Hermione's parents and Tonks' father, but it didn't take much effort for them to increase the functionality and incorporate them into caps that also included rune based shield charms that would give limited protection against stunner spells and the like, and also disillusionment charms.

They had confirmed with Dan, Jean and Ted that these worked for muggles, so the Prime Minister arranged through Madam Bones to purchase enough to supply key elements of the special police and military squads that they put together to counter this threat. They also purchased fixed functionality rune based versions of Sirius's smaller audio only alternatives to the communications mirrors, because the magic in the omniocular goggles and shield hats had a tendency to fry any 'normal' communications devices.

Needless to say, the general Wizengamot members and Ministry people were _not_ told that devices of this nature were being supplied to the muggles, because even though Minister Diggory and Madam Bones had ensured that charms were cast over anyone given knowledge of any of this to prevent them from letting anyone else know anything about what they now knew to comply with the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, they knew that most would argue that this wasn't enough and would demand that they all be obliviated.

* * *

On top of everything else, around Easter Harry started having a recurring dream. It wasn't really a nightmare, because while it gave him a sense of foreboding nothing really happened, but he couldn't understand why he kept having it. It was always the same scene, he was going through a corridor that might have been somewhere in the Hogwarts dungeons, or another castle or building from a similar era, as the walls and floor were stone and there were no windows so it was lit by torches. There was always the same black door at the other end of the corridor, and it was ajar so a blueish light was showing in the gap, but at first he woke up as soon as he tried to push the door open.

They searched the dungeons at Hogwarts, but they couldn't find anything like the scene that Harry was seeing in his dreams, so they were stumped as to where it was. The only thing that they were sure of was that this had to be coming from Harry's connection with Voldemort, which they presumed meant that Voldemort was looking for something there. This excited them, as it appeared that Voldemort might be inadvertently showing them the way to the last Horcrux, and if they could get to that before his people did, then they could kill him!

The dreams continued, and after three or weeks, the scene changed so that the black door opened to let him enter a circular chamber lit with a blueish light, with black walls and identical black doors all around. When Harry told the others about this, Amelia managed to identify where this was, because she'd been there, it was the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic building. This gave them a place to look, though it would hardly be a simple search as the Department of Mysteries had dozens of rooms storing thousands upon thousands of objects in them, and a large proportion of them were dark objects, which would make detecting a horcrux rather difficult. The fact that Augustus Rookwood had been working in the Department of Mysteries before he was sent off to Azkaban made it all the more likely for something like that to be hidden in there.

It was still a step in the right direction though, so Amelia had some of the more established and respected Aurors who were part of the group, like Angela, Frank and Alice Longbottom, Alistor Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Sirius and Tonks, searching the Department of Mysteries whenever they had the opportunity.

The dream seemed to be changing faster now, because it was less than a week later that he crossed the circular chamber, placed his hand on an identical door and it swung inwards...

Now he was in a long, rectangular room that was filled with an odd mechanical clicking. There were dancing flecks of light on the walls but he couldn't take the time to investigate them... he had to go on...

There was another door at the far end... for the next couple of dreams he couldn't reach it in time before the dream ended, but on the third it, too, opened at his touch...

And now he was in a dimly lit room as high and wide as a church, filled with row upon row of towering shelves, and all of them were full of small, dusty, spun‐glass spheres…

Harry's heart was beating faster with excitement now, because he knew where to go... he ran forward, but his footsteps made no noise in the enormous, deserted room…

There was something in this room he wanted very, very much... Something he wanted... or was it somebody else who wanted it?... His scar was hurting...

Of course, this was where the dream stalled again until they were well into their NEWT exams.

* * *

The exams were going as well as expected, because with the level of training and work that they'd completed, no-one else at Hogwarts came even close to them, for that matter, from what Fleur told them, it was doubtful that anyone from Beauxbatons or Durmstrang was likely to challenge them either.

The only one that made them work at all was the History of Magic, because Professor Somersby had largely revised the History of Magic syllabus and Madam Marchbanks had had the exams revised to match her changes. The reason that they'd agreed to this was that Professor Somersby was teaching the _real_ History of Magic for the first time in centuries. She had delved into the truth behind what was in most history books and discredited them as a respected historian, so they now were being taught the authenticated facts from the reference books that she'd created from her research.

The goblins, elves and many other beings who had been relegated to the status of magical _creatures_ by Britain's Ministry of Magic over the last few centuries practically worshipped Winifred Somersby, because now that her work was officially recognised by the Ministry of Magic under Minister Diggory, it had been used as the basis to elevate their status so that they were recognised as magical _beings!_ Werewolves, veela, goblins, elves, centaurs, merpeople were all elevated to magical beings. Even giants were elevated to magical beings on the basis of having enough commonality to crossbreed with humans and having some magical qualities.

They weren't all given the same status, werewolves regained their full human rights (whether magical or non-magical) and veela were officially recognised as having the full rights of magical humans. Goblins, elves and centaurs were elevated to the same rights as non-magical humans, though only the goblins had maintained their nation so formal diplomatic liaisons could not be immediately established with the elves and the centaurs, given that they did not have a nation to have diplomatic relations with as yet. Also, the merpeople and giants had a lesser status as they were simpler, and more primitive people.

Harry's debates with Professor Somersby about how dragons, phoenixes, sphinxes and other magical creatures capable of reasoning should also be elevated to magical beings looked probable to be the basis for the next field of study that Professor Somersby championed, but that would probably take another decade at least to produce any significant results.

The changes that came from Professor Somersby's work added up to the History of Magic exams being more work than any others for the Founders Group, but while they were drained by the end, they got a sense of achievement from them because they'd learned the _real_ History of Magic in six months. Though they had to work at it, no-one doubted that they did far better than anyone else did.

* * *

Harry fell into bed, exhausted, that night, and the dream came back. It had changed again though, and this time seemed as though it had gotten through to the end. When Harry went through the third door into the Hall of Prophecy now, he knew where he was going, and he turned right and headed down to Row Ninety Seven, where he turned left and hurried along between the towering stacks of shelves.

There was a shape on the floor at the very end with other figures standing around it, a black shape writhing on the floor like a wounded animal... Harry's stomach contracted with with excitement...

A voice seemed to issue from his own mouth, a cold, high voice, empty of any human kindness...

"Take it for me... lift it down, now... I cannot touch it... but maybe you can."

The black shape on the floor moved. Harry saw a long‐fingered white hand clutching a wand rise at the end of what seemed to be his own arm... heard the voice say "Crucio!"

The man on the floor screamed in pain, attempting to stand but falling back, writhing in pain. 'Harry' was laughing. He lowered his wand, the curse lifted and the figure groaned and stopped writhing.

"I am waiting !"

Slowly, very slowly, with his arms trembling from the effort, the man on the ground raised his shoulders a few inches and lifted his head. His face was bloodstained and gaunt, twisted in pain yet defiant...

"You'll have to kill me!" whispered Sirius.

"Undoubtedly I shall in the end." answered said the cold voice. "But you will fetch it for me first, Black... do you really think you have felt pain up to now? Think again... we have hours ahead of us and nobody will hear you scream down here..."

But somebody else screamed as Voldemort raised his wand again, somebody yelled and fell out of the bed onto the cold stone floor. Harry awoke as he hit the floor, still yelling, his scar on fire, with Hermione calling to him, terrified. "Harry, what's wrong? What's happening?"

It took Harry a few moments to clear his head enough to recognise where he was, then he quickly concentrated and popped into Sirius's bedchamber. Grabbing him to shake him awake, he quickly ducked the curse that was sent his way when a wand appeared in Sirius's hand and then slumped in relief. Logically he had known that what he saw wasn't real, but he had to see him to be sure.

Sirius was in his bed where he was meant to be, which meant that the repeated dreams that he'd been having for months had been being _sent_ to him by Voldemort. This in turn meant that it was Voldemort who desperately wanted whatever was on that shelf in Row Ninety Seven in the Hall of Prophecy, and that Voldemort needed _him_ to get it!

Harry snapped. "Voldemort's trying to set a trap for us in the Hall of Prophecy, get your armour on!" before popping back to his bedchamber via Remus and Angela's bedchamber. He had to dodge more curses from them before he could tell them what he'd told Sirius, but they were getting out of bed to get dressed as he popped out of the room.

He explained to Hermione what was going on while he stripped off and grabbed his armour, but didn't waste time trying to talk her out of coming with them. Neither of them were surprised when Fleur and Gabi burst into the room, as they'd felt his reaction like Hermione did. Harry quickly explained while he finished putting his armour on, then left it to Fleur to explain to Gabi why neither of them could come.

Sirius, Angela and Remus were waiting in the common room when Harry and Hermione came out, and they popped straight off to Potter Manor to pick up Amelia, Frank and Alice and enough mirrors to monitor the Hall of Prophecy. They were banking on the fact that Voldemort would be expecting it to take them at least an hour or more, and more probably a few hours, to get to the Ministry of Magic, and that he and his Death Eaters couldn't be waiting there for that long, so he most likely either had someone hidden there somewhere as a lookout, or he had someone who'd been turned doing that for him. Voldemort's spies should also be waiting at the normal entry points, because the Ministry had anti-apparition wards established, and the ability to floo into the Ministry was strictly controlled.

With their ability to use elf and goblin apparition though, they weren't effected by the anti-apparition wards, so they could be there within fifteen minutes. Their plan was to pop straight into the Hall of Prophecy, ensure that there was no-one there and set up disillusioned mirrors around the Hall of Prophecy, especially around that spot at the end of Row Ninety Seven where Voldemort wanted Harry to go. The team they were taking were their best magical fighters that they could get there straight away, they weren't expecting to find anyone there, but if they did, they wanted to be able to take them on and have a chance.

When they got there, they set up the general mirrors and then went to the end of Row Ninety Seven where the 'vision' had led Harry, but while they were setting up the disillusioned mirrors there, Hermione suddenly stopped. "Harry, I think you need to look at this!"

She had found the reason that Voldemort had wanted get Harry here, because Amelia had told them that only the one the prophecy was made about could remove the prophecy without dire consequences, and on the label on the globe in front of her written in spidery writing was a date from nearly sixteen years previously, and below that:

'S.P.T. to A.P.W.B.D.

Dark Lord and (?)Harry Potter'

Harry took out his wand and duplicated the globe, carefully replacing the original with the copy and covering up any evidence that it had been disturbed. With that, they finished setting the mirrors in place and popped off to Amelia's office.

* * *

Amelia, Angela and Frank were using the fixed mirrors in the atrium and other Ministry areas to search for Voldemort's spies. Meanwhile the others called in Kingsley Shacklebolt, as well as Moody, Tonks, Rackclaw, Krogar and the pick of Harry's goblin guards, Neville and the twins, Susan and Padma from Hogwarts because they wanted two teams for this. Arthur, Xeno and Augusta were going to Hogwarts to top up the security there with Professor Flitwick and the other goblin guards in Founders Tower.

As soon as Amelia and the others identified the spy, Harry would come in via the emergency entrance with Hermione, Neville and the twins, because Voldemort would be expecting him to arrive with a group of school friends. The rest of them would be popped into the Hall of Prophecy as quietly as possible and disillusioned as soon as Voldemort's people were in place and started talking to Harry, and would do their best to get into position to attack without being discovered.

They expected that Voldemort would be sending his best people to retrieve that prophecy, because he'd killed Harry's parents and sent the psychotic bitch to do the same to Neville's parents just on the basis of the first two lines, and then at just over one, Harry had managed to send him into a dis-corporeal state. Since then, Harry had faced him at eleven, twelve, _and_ thirteen, and he certainly hadn't _lost_ any of those engagements. Not to mention that he'd pushed Voldemort's main followers out of their positions of power, put most of them in Azkaban and took away the money and bases that he needed to make his triumphant return, so Voldemort would be getting pretty desperate by now to find out _exactly_ what that prophecy said.

It took Amelia and the others a while to catch the clue about who the spy was, because it was the watchwizard in the atrium. They only caught onto him because Amelia caught him looking at pictures of Harry and the other students, which made it rather obvious that he was making sure that he'd recognise who came with Harry when they arrived.

By then, Amelia's office was rather getting crowded, with twenty two humans and goblins and four elves, so Harry and the others were glad to be popping out to the emergency access point. Harry led the way quickly to the battered telephone box and opened the door. "Come on!" he laughed at the others as they hesitated. Hermione followed him in and snuggled into him, while Neville and the twins squashed themselves in after her. As soon as Fred pulled the door closed though, it magically expanded inside so they had plenty of room.

Harry waved at the receiver and asked Hermione. "Would you like to do the honours, Mi'lady?" Hermione nodded with a grin, but gave him a questioning look. "Oh, sorry. Dial six two four four two."

She did this, and as the dial whirred back into place, a cool female voice sounded inside the box.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and the nature of your business at the Ministry."

Hermione looked at Harry and grinned. "Harry Potter, Hermione Potter, Neville Longbottom, Fred Weasley and George Weasley... we're here to save the day, unless the Ministry can do it first!"

"Thank you." said the cool female voice. "Visitors, please take the badges and attach them to the front of your robes."

Half a dozen badges slid out of the metal chute where returned coins normally appeared. Hermione scooped them up and handed them mutely to Harry; he glanced at the topmost one, Harry Potter, Rescue Mission.

"Visitors to the Ministry, you are required to submit to a search and present your wands for registration at the security desk, which is located at the far end of the Atrium."

"Fine." Harry responded. "Now do you think we can move please?"

The floor of the telephone box shuddered and the pavement rose up past its glass windows; blackness closed over their heads and with a rough grinding noise they sank down into the depths of the Ministry of Magic. A chink of soft golden light hit their feet and, widening, rose up their bodies.

Harry bent his knees and held his wand ready as he peered through the glass to see whether anybody was waiting for them in the Atrium, but it seemed to be empty. The light was dimmer than it had been by day; there were no fires burning under the mantelpieces set into the walls, but as the lift slid smoothly to a halt he saw that golden symbols continued to twist sinuously in the dark blue ceiling.

"The Ministry of Magic wishes you a pleasant evening." said the woman's voice as the door of the telephone box opened. Harry stepped out, closely followed by Hermione and Neville and the twins came out on their heels. The only sound in the Atrium was the steady splashing of the water from the golden fountain, where jets shot from the wands of the witch and wizard, the tip of the centaur's arrow, the top of the goblin's hat and the house‐elf's ears into the surrounding pool.

"Come on." said Harry quietly and the they headed for where the watchwizard was looking at them, past the fountain towards the desk where the watchwizard who had weighed Harry's wand had sat the other times he had come in the front door. Harry had to stifle a laugh as he saw the man rushing to send an inter-office memo off, Voldemort needed to get a better class of minion. He mentally slapped his own wrist for that as he realised that they didn't want Voldemort to have minions with a brain, as that would just make life harder for them.

The man kept asking the same type of inane, stupid questions repeatedly and ignoring their answers for almost fifteen minutes, then just after he cut off to read the inter-office memo that arrived, he brusquely waved them through. Of course, Harry had been watching the lifts, and saw the lift that the memo came out of heading down to the lower levels where the Department of Mysteries was while the watchwizard was trying to keep them occupied.

He looked at Hermione as they passed through the golden gates to the lifts. She smiled reassuringly at him, as she knew that he really didn't want her involved in this, but had accepted that she wasn't about to take 'No' for an answer. Harry pressed the nearest "down" button and the lift doors clattered open immediately, the golden grilles sliding apart with a great, echoing clanking and they dashed inside.

Harry jabbed the number nine button, the grilles closed with a bang and the lift began to descend, groaning and rattling all the way. Harry hadn't realised just how noisy these lifts were the last time he had used them, he had to speak up when he told Madam Bones over the communication device that the watchwizard needed to be left in place until this was done, and that the Death Eaters either came through one of the private floo connections, or they'd been waiting in one of the offices. He was sure the din would attract every security person within the building, but when the lift halted, the same cool female voice just said, "Department of Mysteries." and the grilles slid open. They stepped out into the corridor that he remembered so vividly from his dreams, where nothing was moving but the nearest torches were still flickering from the rush of air from the lift.

Harry whispered. "Let's go.", and he led the way down the corridor, towards the black door that he remembered so well, it was a surreal experience as the door opened to show the circular chamber that was etched into his memory almost as much as the corridor. Everything was black, the continuous wall that curved around them, the floor, the ceiling and the evenly spaced, identical black doors without handles. The only thing that relieved this were the blue fames that burned on the black candles set on the walls between the doors.

* * *

They stepped into the chamber, and with the floor, ceiling and walls all being made of polished black marble and showing them and the candle flames in their reflections, it was as if a much larger group were at once standing on, and at the bottom of, a black pond with blue candle light all around them. This was where the experience changed, because in his dream, Harry had always walked purposefully across this room to the door immediately opposite the entrance and walked on. But there were around a dozen doors here, and just as he was gazing ahead at the doors opposite him, trying to decide which was the right one, there was a great rumbling noise and the candles began to move sideways as the circular wall rotated. It quickly sped up until the blue candle flames blurred into a single blue line around them, and then as quickly as it started, it slowed and stopped, and the chamber was silent again.

"What was that about?" Neville asked in a whisper.

"I think it was to stop us knowing which door we came in through." Hermione answered almost as quietly.

Harry realised at once she was right, he could no sooner identify the exit door than pick out ant on the black polished floor, and the door through which they needed to proceed could now be any one of the dozen that surrounded them.

"Where do we go, then, Harry?" Neville asked.

"I don't..." Harry began. He stopped and shook his head. "In the dreams I went through the door at the end of the corridor from the lifts into this chamber and then I went through another door into a room that kind of... glitters…. We should start trying doors I guess..." he hesitated again. "I'll know the right one when I see it. Come on."

He marched straight at the door now facing him, with the others following close behind him, put his left hand against its cool, shining surface, raising his wand ready to react the moment it opened. He looked at the others to confirm that they were ready, and then pushed on the door, it swung open easily.

After the darkness of the circular chamber, the lamps hanging low on golden chains from the ceiling in this room gave the impression that the long rectangular room was much brighter, though there were no glittering, shimmering lights as Harry had seen in his dreams. The room was mostly empty except for a few desks and, in the very middle of the room, an enormous glass tank filled with dark green liquid, big enough for all of them to swim in. They could see a number of pearly‐white objects drifting around inside it.

"What're those things?" asked Neville.

Harry's response was just "Dunno."

"Giant Maggots?" was George's offering, trying to lighten the mood.

"No..." said Hermione. She sounded odd as she moved forward to get a better look into the tank. "They're brains."

"Brains?"

"Yes... I wonder what they're doing with them?"

Harry joined her at the tank. Sure enough, there could be no mistake now he saw them up close. Glimmering eerily, they drifted in and out of sight in the depths of the green liquid, looking something like slimy cauliflowers.

Harry shuddered "Let's get out of here, this isn't right, we need to try another door."

Fred pointed out that there was a door at the other end of the room, but Harry shook his head.

"In my dream I went through the other room into the second one. I think we need to go back and try to find it."

With that, they hurried back into the circular chamber, but the ghostly shapes of those brains were now swimming before Harry's eyes instead of the blue candle flames.

"Wait!" said Hermione sharply, as Fred made to close the door of the brain room behind them. "Flagrate!"

She drew an 'X' in the air with her wand and a fiery 'X' appeared on the door. No sooner had the door clicked shut behind them than there was a great rumbling, and once again the wall began to spin, but now there was a great red‐gold blur as well as the blue line and, when it came to a stop again, the fiery cross was still burning, showing the door they had already tried.

Harry gave her a hug. "Good thinking. OK, let's try this one….."

Once again, he strode to the door facing him and pushed it open, his wand raised, the others at his heels.

This room was larger than the last, dimly lit and semi circular, and the far corner was sunken, forming a stone depression some twenty feet deep. They were standing on the topmost tier of what seemed to be stone benches running around the room and descending in steep steps like an amphitheatre. There was a raised stone dais in the far corner, on which stood a stone archway that looked so ancient, cracked and crumbling that Harry was amazed the thing was still holding together. Separated from the surrounding walls, the archway was hung with a tattered black curtain or veil which, despite the complete stillness of the cold air in the room, was fluttering as though it had just been touched.

Harry asked "Is anyone there?" as he jumped down onto the bench below. There was no answer, but the veil continued to flutter and sway.

"Be careful Harry!" Hermione hissed at him, because there was something about this that tugged at her memory, and whatever memory was just out of reach, she was sure that it wasn't good.

Harry scrambled down the steps until he reached the bottom of the sunken pit. His footsteps echoed as he walked slowly towards the dais. The pointed archway looked taller from where he now stood than it had when he'd been looking down on it. The veil still swayed gently, as though somebody had just passed through it.

"Hello?" Harry spoke again, but more quietly now that he was nearer.

He had the distinct feeling that there was someone standing right behind the veil on the other side of the archway. Gripping his wand tightly, he edged around the dais, but there was nobody there, all that could be seen was the other side of the tattered black veil.

"Let's go." called Hermione from halfway up the stone steps. "This isn't right Harry, come on, let's go."

She sounded frightened, much more frightened than she had in the room with the brains in the tank, but Harry was drawn to the archway. The gently rippling veil intrigued him and he felt a strong pull to climb up onto the dais and walk through it.

"Harry, let's go, OK?" said Hermione more forcefully.

Harry said "OK", but he didn't move. He had just heard something. There were faint whispering, murmuring noises coming from the other side of the veil.

"What are you saying?" he asked.

"Nobody's talking Harry!" said Hermione, now moving over to him.

"Someone's whispering behind there." he said, moving out of her reach and continuing to frown at the veil. "Is that you Neville?"

"I'm here, mate." Neville answered from the steps.

"Can't anyone else hear it?" Harry asked, because the whispering and murmuring was becoming louder. Without really intending to proceed, he found that his foot had moved onto the dais.

"I can hear them too." Neville whispered from where he was now on the other side of the dias, gazing at the swaying veil. "There are people in there!"

"What do you mean, 'in there', Neville?" demanded Hermione, sounding angrier than the occasion seemed to warrant. "There isn't any 'in there', it's just an archway, there's no room for anybody to be there. Harry, stop it, come away….."

She grabbed his arm and pulled, but he resisted.

"Harry, we are supposed to be here for something else!" she said in a strained voice. She leant in to whisper to him. "We're here to get the Death Eaters!"

"Death Eaters." Harry repeated, still gazing, mesmerised, at the continuously swaying veil. "Yeah..."

Something finally slid back into place in his brain, there was a group of Death Eaters in the Hall of Prophecy and Madam Bones and the others waiting to spring the trap, and he was staring at this archway...

He took several paces back from the dais and wrenched his eyes from the veil.

"OK. Let's go." he said.

"That's what I've been trying to….. OK, come on!" said Hermione, and she led the way back around the dais. On the other side of the dias, Neville was still staring at the veil, apparently entranced.

Without speaking, Hermione took hold of his arm and marched the two of them firmly back to the steps, where they started clambering back up to the door.

"What do you reckon that arch was?" Harry asked Hermione once they'd returned to the circular chamber.

"I don't know, but whatever it was, it was dangerous!" she said firmly, again inscribing a fiery cross on the door.

Once more, the wall span. When it stopped, Harry approached another door at random and pushed. It didn't move.

"Whatʹs wrong?" said Hermione.

"It seems to be locked..." said Harry, throwing his weight at the door, but it didn't budge.

"Get out of the way!" said Hermione sharply, as that archway was still worrying her. She pointed her wand at the place where a lock would have been on an ordinary door and said, "Alohomora!"

Nothing happened.

"Right, we're leaving that room!" said Hermione decisively.

"But, what if that's the one?" Neville asked, staring at it with a mixture of apprehension and hope.

"It can't be, Harry could get through all the doors in his dream, remember?" Hermione pointed out, marking the door with another fiery cross.

"Do you know what could be in there?" asked Neville, as the wall started to spin yet again.

"Nothing good, I dare say!" Hermione answered grimly.

The wall slid to a halt and Harry, with a feeling of increasing worry, pushed the next door open.

"This is it!"

He knew it at once by the beautiful, dancing, diamond‐sparkling light. As Harry's eyes became accustomed to the brilliant glare, he saw clocks of every type gleaming from every surface, large and small, grandfather and carriage, hanging in spaces between the bookcases or standing on desks ranging the length of the room, so a relentless ticking filled the place like thousands of minuscule, marching footsteps. The source of the dancing, diamond‐bright light was a towering crystal bell jar that stood at the far end of the room.

"This way!"

Harryʹs heart was pumping now that he knew they were on the right track. He led the way down the narrow aisle between the lines of desks, heading, as he had done in his dreams, for the source of that light, the crystal bell jar quite as tall as he was that stood on a desk and appeared to be full of a billowing, glittering wind.

"Look at that!" said Fred, as they drew nearer, pointing at the very heart of the bell jar.

Drifting along in the sparkling current inside was a tiny, jewel‐bright egg. As it rose in the jar, it cracked open and a hummingbird emerged, which was carried to the very top of the jar, but as it fell on the draught its feathers became bedraggled and damp again, and by the time it had been borne back to the bottom of the jar it had been enclosed once more in its egg.

"Keep going!" said Harry sharply, because Fred showed signs of wanting to stop and watch the eggʹs progress back into a bird.

Fred's response was. "You dawdled enough at the arch!" but followed him past the bell jar to the only door behind it.

"This is it." Harry said again, and his heart was now pumping hard and fast. "it's through here..."

He glanced around at them all, they had their wands out and looked serious and anxious. He turned back to the door and pushed. It swung open.

* * *

They were there, in the Hall of Prophecy. The ceiling was as high as a church and it was full of towering shelves covered in small, dusty, glass orbs. They glimmered dully in the light issuing from more candle‐brackets set at intervals along the shelves. Like those in the circular chamber behind them, the candles burned with a blue flame. The room was quite cold.

Harry edged forward and peered down one of the shadowy aisles between two rows of shelves. He couldn't hear anything or see the slightest sign of movement.

"Keep your wands ready." Harry said softly.

Hermione took his arm and stretched up to whisper in his ear. "Remember that we aren't supposed to know where the prophecy is." Harry nodded and she went to remind the others of the same thing.

For appearances' sake, Hermione whispered loudly. "You said it was row ninety‐seven."

"Yeah." breathed Harry, looking up at the end of the closest row. Beneath the branch of blue‐glowing candles protruding from it glimmered the silver figure fifty‐three.

"We need to go right, I think." whispered Hermione, squinting to the next row. "Yes... that's fifty‐four..."

They crept forward, glancing behind them as they went on down the long alleys of shelves, the further ends of which were in near‐total darkness. Yellowing labels had been stuck beneath each glass orb on the shelves. Some of them were filled with a weird, liquid glow, while others were as dull and dark as blown light bulbs.

"Ninety‐seven!" Hermione suddenly whispered.

They stood grouped around the end of the row, gazing down the alley beside it. There was nobody there.

"He's right down at the end." said Harry. "You mustn't be able to see properly from here."

With that, he led them between the towering rows of glass balls, some of which glowed softly as they passed...

"He should be near here." whispered Harry. "Somewhere here... really close..."

"Harry?" said Hermione tentatively, but he didn't respond. His mouth was very dry because he knew that the Death Eaters were waiting for them. "Somewhere about... here..." he said.

They had reached the end of the row and emerged into more dim candlelight. There was nobody in sight. All was echoing, dusty silence.

"He might be..." Harry whispered hoarsely, peering down the next alley. "Or maybe..." He hurried to look down the one beyond that.

"Harry?" said Hermione again.

"What?" he snapped, wondering how long they were going to have to keep up this act.

"I... I don't think Sirius is here."

"Harry?" Neville called.

"What?"

Neville asked."Have you seen this?"

"What?" asked Harry, making his tone eager this time, as if hoping that this could be a sign that Sirius had been there, a clue. He strode back to where they were all standing, a little way down row ninety‐seven, but found nothing except for Neville staring at the duplicate of the prophecy on the shelf.

"What?" Harry repeated glumly.

"It's…..it's got your name on it." Neville said.

Harry moved a little closer. Neville was pointing at the duplicate prophecy, and Harry realise belatedly that it was luckily still glowing with a dull inner light like the original, and was properly dusty and appeared not to have been touched for many years.

"My name?" asked Harry blankly.

He stepped forwards. Leaning in to read the yellowish label affixed to the shelf right beneath the dusty glass ball. He made a show of reading the spidery writing that showed a date of some sixteen years previously, and below that:

S.P.T. to A.P.W.B.D.

Dark Lord and (?)Harry Potter

Harry stared at it.

"What is it?" Neville asked, sounding unnerved. "What's your name doing down here?"

He glanced along at the other labels on that stretch of shelf. "None of the rest of us are here."

"Harry, I don't think you should touch it!" said Hermione sharply, as he stretched out his hand.

"Why not?" he asked. "It's something to do with me, isnʹt it?" He just wished the Death Eaters would make their move, he wasn't by nature violent but he wanted this play acting to end.

"Don't, Harry!" Neville said suddenly. Harry looked at him, and he was surprised at what a good actor Neville was. Neville's face was shining slightly with sweat. He looked as though he could not take much more suspense.

"It's got my name on it!" Harry snapped.

And he closed his fingers around the dusty ball's surface. Expecting, even hoping, that something dramatic was going to happen, Harry lifted the glass ball down from its shelf and stared at it.

Nothing whatsoever happened. The others moved in closer around Harry, gazing at the orb as he brushed it free of the clogging dust.

And then, from right behind them, a drawling voice spoke.

"Very good, Potter. Now turn around, nice and slowly, and give that to me."

Black hooded shapes were emerging out of thin air all around them, blocking their way left and right. Eyes glinted through slits in masks, and over a dozen lit wand tips were pointing directly at them. Hermione gave a gasp of horror.

"To me, Potter." repeated the drawling voice of Lucius Malfoy (no, Lucius No-Name, Harry corrected himself, pushing down a wry smile) as he held out his hand, palm up.

Harry made a show of being afraid as he looked around. Oh no, they were trapped, and outnumbered three to one….. He felt Hermione nudge him to let him know he was overacting.

"To me." Lucius said yet again.

"Where's Sirius?" Harry asked.

Several of the Death Eaters laughed. A harsh female voice from the midst of the shadowy figures off to Harry's left crowed triumphantly. "The Dark Lord always knows!"

"Always." echoed Lucius softly. "Now, give me the prophecy Potter."

"I want to know where Sirius is!"

"I want to know where Sirius is!" taunted the woman off to his left.

She and her fellow Death Eaters had closed in so that they were mere feet away from Harry and the others, the light from their wands dazzling Harryʹs eyes.

"You've got him!" Harry blurted out, keeping up the act. "He's here. I know he is!"

"Poor widdle bitty baby woke up twightened and fort what it dweamed was twoo." the woman said in a horrible, mock baby voice. Harry felt Neville stir beside him and realised that she must be Sirius's crazy cousin Bellatrix, the one who had almost destroyed his parents.

"Don't do anything." Harry muttered. "Not yet..."

Bellatrix let out a raucous scream of laughter.

"You hear him? You hear him? Giving instructions to the other children as though he thinks they have a chance of fighting us!"

"Oh, you don't know Potter as I do, Bellatrix." Lucius said softly. "He has a great weakness for heroics. the Dark Lord understands this about him. Now give me the prophecy, Potter."

"I know Sirius is here." Harry said again. "I know you've got him!"

More of the Death Eaters laughed at that, though Bellatrix laughed loudest of all.

"It's time you learned the difference between life and dreams, Potter." said Lucius. "Now give me the prophecy, or we start using wands."

"Go on, then!" Harry answered, raising his own wand to chest height. As he did so, Hermione, Neville, Fred and George raised their wands on either side of him….

But the Death Eaters did not attack.

"Hand over the prophecy and no one need get hurt." Lucius said coolly.

It was Harry's turn to laugh.

"Yeah, right!" he said. "I give you this…. prophecy, is it? And you'll just let us skip off home then, will you?"

The words were hardly out of his mouth when Bellatrix shrieked: "Accio proph…."

Harry had been ready for her. He shouted "Protego!" before she had finished her spell, and though the glass sphere slipped in his fingers a little he managed to hang onto it.

"Oh, he knows how to play, little bitty baby Potter." she said, her mad eyes staring through the slits in her mask. "Very well, then…."

"I TOLD YOU! NO!" Lucius roared at the woman. "If you smash it….!"

Harry's mind was racing. The prophecy was obviously worth more to Voldemort than the lives of these Death Eaters, even though he knew that the one in his hand was worthless.

He didn't know why the others hadn't made their move yet, but he needed to make sure that Hermione and the others got out of this OK….

Bellatrix stepped forward, away from her fellows, pushing back her hood and pulling off her mask.

Azkaban had ravaged her face, making it gaunt and skull‐like, but it was alight with a feverish, fanatical glow.

"You need more persuasion?" she asked, her chest rising and falling rapidly in her excitement. "So be it!….. Take the girl!" she shouted at the Death Eaters beside her. "We can let him watch while we torture her. I'll do it!"

Harry felt the others close in around Hermione and he stepped sideways so that he was right in front of her, the prophecy held up to his chest.

"You'll smash this if you try to attack any of us!" he told Bellatrix. "I don't think your boss will be too pleased with you if you came back without it, will he?"

She did not move, she merely stared at him, the tip of her tongue moistening her thin mouth.

"So, what kind of prophecy are we talking about, anyway?" Harry asked.

He could not think what to do but to keep them talking.

"What kind of prophecy?" repeated Bellatrix, the grin fading from her face. "Surely you jest, Harry Potter."

"Nope!" said Harry, his eyes flicking from one to the other of the Death Eaters, looking for the weakest link. "How come Voldemort wants it?"

Several of the Death Eaters let out low hisses.

"You dare speak his name?" Bellatrix hissed.

"Yeah." said Harry, tightening his grip on the glass ball, expecting another attempt to summon it from him. "Yeah, I've got no problem with saying Vol….."

"Shut your filthy mouth!" Bellatrix shrieked. "You dare to let his name pass through your unworthy lips, you dare besmirch it with your half‐bloodʹs tongue, you dare…."

"Didn't you know? He's a half‐blood too!" Harry goaded, baiting her. Hermione gave a little moan in his ear, because they didn't know for sure that the others were there and he was going to enrage them with this.

"Voldemort? Yeah, his mother was a witch alright but his dad was a Muggle…. Oh no, he wasn't telling you lot that he was a pureblood, was he?"

"STUPEF…."

"NO!"

A beam of red light shot from Bellatrixʹs wand, but Lucius had deflected it, his counter spell causing hers to hit the shelf a foot to the left of Harry and several of the glass orbs there shattered.

Two figures, pearly‐white as ghosts, fluid as smoke, arose from the fragments of broken glass upon the floor and each began to speak. Their voices vied with each other, so that only fragments of what they were saying could be heard over Lucius and Bellatrixʹs shouts.

"... at the solstice will come a new ..." started the figure of an old, bearded man.

"DO NOT ATTACK HIM! WE NEED THAT PROPHECY!"

"He dared... he dares..." shrieked Bellatrix incoherently, almost frothing at the mouth "He stands there…. filthy half‐blood…."

"WAIT UNTIL WE'VE GOT THE PROPHECY!" Lucius roared.

"... and none will come after..." said the figure of a young woman.

The two figures that had risen from the shattered spheres melted into thin air. Nothing remained of them or where they came from but fragments of glass upon the floor. They had, however, given Harry an idea. The problem was going to be conveying it to the others.

"You still haven't told me what's so special about this prophecy that you want me to hand over." he said, playing for time. He moved his foot slowly sideways, feeling around for someone else's.

"Do not play games with us, Potter." Lucius barked.

"What do you mean? I'm not playing games..." Harry answered, half his mind on this conversation, half on his foot finding someone's. And then he found someoneʹs toes and pressed down upon them. A sharp intake of breath from behind him told him they were Hermione's.

"What?" she whispered.

"Dumbledore never told you that the explanation for why you bear that scar was hidden in the bowels of the Department of Mysteries?" Lucius Malfoy sneered.

"What? What about my scar?"

"What?" whispered Hermione more urgently behind him.

"Can this be?" Lucius asked with malicious delight. Some of the Death Eaters burst out laughing again, and under cover of their laughter, Harry hissed to Hermione, moving his lips as little as possible. "Blast the shelves….."

"Dumbledore never told you?" Lucius repeated. "Well, this explains why you didn't come earlier, Potter, the Dark Lord wondered why…."

"…..when I say now…." Harry continued to Hermione.

"….you didn't come running as soon as he showed you the place where it was hidden in your dreams. He thought natural curiosity would make you want to hear the exact wording..."

"Did he now?" asked Harry. Behind him he faintly heard Hermione passing his message to the others and he keep talking to distract the Death Eaters.

"So he wanted me to come and get it? Why?"

"Why? Because the only people who are permitted to retrieve a prophecy from the Department of Mysteries, Potter, are those about whom it was made, as the Dark Lord discovered when he attempted to use others to steal it for him."

"And why did he want to steal a prophecy about me?"

"It's about both of you, Potter, about both of you... haven't you ever wondered why the Dark Lord tried to kill you as a baby?"

Harry stared into the slitted eye‐holes in the mask, through which Luciusʹs grey eyes were gleaming.

"Someone made a prophecy about Voldemort and me?" he asked quietly, staring at Lucius, his fingers tightening over the warm glass sphere in his hand. It was hardly larger than a Snitch and still gritty with dust. "And he's set me up to come and get it for him? Why didn't he come and get it himself?"

"Get it himself?" shrieked Bellatrix, with a cackle of mad laughter. "The Dark Lord, walk into the Ministry of Magic? Why would our master reveal himself to the Aurors, when they are wasting their time running around the country, trying to find us?"

"So, he's got you doing his dirty work for him then, has he?" asked Harry. "Like he tried to get the others to steal it?"

"Very good, Potter, very good..." Lucius drawled. "But the Dark Lord knows you are not unintell…."

Harry shouted "NOW!" as he brought up his wand.

Five different voices bellowed, ʹREDUCTO!ʹ Five curses flew in five different directions and the shelves opposite them exploded as they hit, the towering structure swaying as a hundred glass spheres burst apart, pearly‐white figures were released into the air and floated there, their voices echoing from who knew what long‐dead past amid the torrent of crashing glass and splintered wood now raining down upon the floor…..

"RUN!" Harry yelled, as the shelves swayed precariously and more glass spheres began to fall from above. He seized a handful of Hermioneʹs robes and dragged her with him, holding one arm over his head as chunks of shelf and shards of glass cascaded down on them. A Death Eater lunged forwards through the cloud of dust and Harry elbowed him hard in the masked face, everyone was yelling. There were cries of pain, and thunderous crashes as the shelves collapsed in on themselves, weirdly echoing fragments of the Seers unleashed from their spheres….

* * *

This was when the others finally attacked, raining 'Stupefy!' and 'Reducto!' spells down on the death eaters. The goblins moved in on the ones like Lucius and Bellatrix who were managing to dodge or block the spells, lopping off their wand arms to stop them from fighting back.

The fight was over in less than thirty seconds, and as silence fell over the Hall, Harry screamed at Amelia, Angela, Sirius and the others. _**"What took you so fucking long?"**_ Amelia and the others who had only ever seen the polite young man that Harry normally was were shocked speechless at the anger and language being thrown at them, but they started to understand as he continued. _**"We were standing there, outnumbered three to one by psychotic fucking Death Eaters and**_ _ **didn't know whether**_ _ **you were even here! In the end I decided that we had to make a run for it,**_ _ **as that was our only chance of getting out of here**_ _ **!"**_

Angela and Remus stepped forward to try to calm him down. "Harry, we're sorry, but they never dropped their wands, if we'd attacked when they were holding you at wand point at least some of you would have been hit and probably killed…."

"That's what we were wearing the armour for Uncle Remus, remember?"

"But..."

Harry cut him off with an angry, dismissive flick of the hand and the others gasped as Remus was thrown back twenty feet, because the power that was emanating from the teenager was incredible.

Harry turned his back on them and stalked off to unmask the Death Eaters, to see whether it had been worth being dangled like that as bait to get them, Bellatrix was already unmasked, and he knew which one was Lucius, so he roughly pulled his mask off before he went through the others.

He subsequently uncovered Rudolphus, Bellatrix's husband, Nott, Crabbe, Jugson, Dolohov, Macnair, Avery, Rookwood, Mulciber and Travers in turn, they'd gotten a good haul here, as these were most of Voldemort's elite. They got a surprise when they uncovered two of the others though, because they were Delores Umbridge and Mafalda Hopkirk. Harry dropped Hopkirk's mask in disgust and turned to Madam Bones. "I do hope you're not going to let any of these who know so many of the Ministry's secrets live _this_ time Director, I'd rather that they not be able to use what they know to help Voldemort _**again**_!"

With that, he popped off. Hermione knew where he'd gone, so she followed him straight away.

The others just stood there and looked at each other, ashamed to admit just how terrified they'd been of Harry when he unleashed the power and anger that he'd kept bottled up most of his life.


	23. Bringing Down The House

**OK, I'm in the mood to play, let's have a game of who follows who in the next generation of canon characters.**

 **Hermione Granger is _obviously_ Lily Evans, they're like two peas in a pod, intelligent, hard working, impassioned for a cause, caring.**

 **Fred and George Weasley, once again it's fairly obvious, James Potter and Sirius Black. They're all intelligent larrikins who could do _much_ better if they just concentrated on their school work instead of pranks.**

 **Harry Potter, the only one who comes close for me is Remus Lupin. Intelligent, caring, brave, considerate, there's no-one else for Harry to follow.**

 **Neville Longbottom, once again, I can't see anyone but Remus being a fitting role model for Neville.**

 **Ron Weasley, the only one who fits him is Peter Pettigrew. Not very bright, brave or funny, constantly jealous of the ones they follow around to try and leach off their fame and position and self centred, so they will betray the ones they follow as soon as something they think is better comes along. Much like Hermione and Lily, they're two peas in a pod.**

 **Draco Malfoy, there's no similar characters in the previous generation, well his attitude is from Lucius of course, but I doubt that Lucius was ever as pathetic or useless as Draco.**

 **Ginny Weasley? Perhaps Molly, but I can't see Molly ever being that quiet. Someone has suggested Bellatrix Black but I don't think Ginny's _quite_ that crazy.**

 **Percy Weasley, Barty Crouch Senior, there was a reason I picked him as Percy's real father.**

 **There's no-one to follow Snape, some might copy his attitude, but they don't have his brilliance or poor muggle raised background.**

 **This is a bit of a political filler chapter, largely setting up changes in their world as two thirds of the group leave Hogwarts and the other side starts fighting against them, but there are a _lot_ of changes to their world. ;^) As such, this one may be a little heavy for some, but it seemed to flow this way, sorry.**

 **Usual disclaimers, no rights to any characters portrayed and this is neither the real world nor a Disney Princess tale.**

Harry was standing at the window of their bedchamber, looking out over Black Lake when Hermione arrived, so she just came up behind him and wrapped her arms around him.

He didn't say anything for a while, but eventually he asked. "How could they just wait and do nothing while we were facing the Death Eaters? Couldn't they see that Sirius's psychotic cousin was about to break and attack us?"

Hermione just shook her head, he felt it against the back of his shoulder and went on.

"Well I guess we took the cream of Voldemort's followers away from him tonight, but I won't let you be put at that much risk again." He felt her about to say something and quickly went on again. "And yes, I know that if I get to say that I won't you let be in that position, you get to say it to me as well."

The sound she made was half a laugh, half a cry, so he turned around to draw her into his arms. "I know we've got to finish this, finish Voldemort, but I won't put you or the rest of my family at risk like that again."

Hermione just nodded into his chest at that, and they undressed and went to bed.

In the morning, the others knew better than to push Harry about what had happened in the Hall of Prophecy, especially after Neville told them about Harry's reaction. Angela, Remus and Sirius did get him to sit down and listen to their explanation about why Madam Bones had held off, and Rackclaw supported their contention that from where they were, it looked as if most of the five would have been hit by spells or curses if they'd moved before they did.

That calmed Harry down enough to talk about the ones that they'd captured, which in turn led to another question, why wasn't Snape there? They thought for sure that he would have begged to be involved in ridiculing and using Harry that way. All that they'd managed to get out of the Death Eaters on the subject though was that Snape was working with someone else on a major potions project and Voldemort had forbidden him from risking that project to be part of the Hall of Prophecy operation. Apparently the fact that he'd expressed doubts that they'd manage to capture Potter that way hadn't stood him in good stead with Voldemort. When Harry asked what would be happening to the ones they took there, he was told that they'd be questioned and any memories taken, then they were all going through the veil of death to send a message to Voldemort, as most of them had been part of the breakout from Azkaban.

At breakfast, it was interesting to note the looks of surprise at Harry's appearance. It was even more interesting to note that these looks didn't all come from the Slytherin tables, either, they saw ones at the Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor tables who were obviously _not_ expecting Harry to turn up that morning. Harry caught Angela's eye and she nodded musingly, he could tell that Hermione agreed that this was a worrying development too.

* * *

The rest of the exams were uneventful, and they all accepted the arguments that they had to have a celebration for the biggest and youngest NEWT class that Hogwarts had ever had as soon as the exams were finished. (Well, they did have the _oldest_ NEWT student as well, because Hagrid had done his exams with the others. His electives were Ancient Runes and, of course, Care of Magical Creatures.) No-one thought much of it when Professor Slughorn produced bottles of champagne for all of the NEWT students and staff, as this was the sort of thing he'd done with his Slug Club for as long as he'd been teaching. There was something about the taste of the champagne that set off alarm bells for Harry though, and he quietly got their elves to collect all of the bottles, asking them to try and make sure that there was enough champagne left in them to be tested.

All that they could determine from their initial testing was that there was _something_ in the champagne, but it was too obscure to be identified, and as there were no obvious effects on anyone who drank it, they were tentatively putting it down to just some subtle potion that Slughorn had created in an attempt to make some kind of link between him and the graduating NEWT students that he could hopefully leverage somewhere down the track.

At least, that was what they put it down to until Harry had sex with Pansy Parkinson and Hannah Abbot in an empty classroom a couple of days later. There had obviously been something in the potions which was keyed to the two girls, and they had apparently taken potions to trigger a reaction in Harry, because he couldn't argue when they dragged him into an empty classroom and started tearing their clothes off, in fact he went along eagerly. When he caught some of what they intended through legilimens and tried to fight it by pulling out before he ended though, he found out that it was more than just an overwhelming lust potion that he'd been given, because when they screamed. "No! Inside me!" he couldn't resist their commands, the most he managed to do was flip them over to ensure that where he was inside of them _wasn't_ what they'd had in mind.

Harry was raging at them and trying too hard to fight the potions to think straight at that point, so when he cast the spell to remove any trace of himself from them and prevent any chance of them carrying his children, it was so general and overpowered that they lost layers of skin from their breasts and privates, as well as linings of certain parts inside (Hannah couldn't talk for days), and they both lost any chance of ever having children. His rage brought Hermione, Gabi, Angela, Remus and the goblin guards to the classroom, and he somehow managed to let them know to take the two girls into captivity, and to grab Slughorn as well.

Between his rage and trying to fight the potions, he was having trouble talking coherently, but Hermione and Gabi managed to get enough from his mind for them to understand that he needed to be taken straight to Gringotts to get the goblins' healers to try and purge these potions from him. By this stage, it was obvious to all of them that the potions in the champagne had been keyed _only_ to Harry, because everyone else had drunk the champagne without feeling any effects. From what they got out of Pansy Parkinson, arrest warrants were put out for key members of the Parkinson, Abbot, Rosier and Macmillan families, and wards and blocks were put up to prevent anyone from any of these families (or Slughorn, but he was already in custody and the last of his family) from leaving their homes, or Magical Britain.

* * *

It didn't take more than a week to get the key details of the plot. Under Voldemort's orders, the Head of the Noble and Ancient House of Rosier had approached the Head of the Noble and Ancient House of Macmillan with what was sold as a sure fire way to put a stop to the ravages that Harry Potter and those aligned to him were imposing on the traditional pureblood way of life in Magical Britain, and get control of Potter's fortune and power as well. They had two of Magical Britain's most brilliant Potions Masters working on a specifically targeted potion which would give them more control over Harry Potter than an imperius curse, along with lust potions to make the selected girls irresistible to him, and potency potions to ensure that he got them pregnant within the first couple of sessions. Once they were with child, it would be a simple matter to have him cast out the Mudblood and everything would proceed as planned.

The selling points to Macmillan were that the proper pureblood families needed to stick together, and as an incentive, they were being offered one of the two primary houses that Potter controlled for the 'light'. If they supplied a suitable girl to use Potter's seed to pull this off, they would get control of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Gryffindor and its bloodline. The 'dark' would naturally keep the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter for themselves in this deal. Macmillan took the deal and pressured the Head of the Noble House of Abbot into offering up a suitable daughter from the Abbot family for the purpose, the Noble House of Parkinson was providing the daughter for the other side. The fact that the plan required them to get rid of Lord Potter (and probably the previous Lady Potter as well) as soon as suitable heirs for both houses had been born was what sealed the fate of everyone involved in the plot.

When the story came out, Susan was horrified that the girl who'd been her best friend at one time could have agreed to be a part of this. When asked, Hannah's off hand reaction, saying that her family had wanted her to do this and that it was her right to go after a better life for herself made it clear to Susan that she no longer knew Hannah, but it was the fact that Hannah had known of the plan to get rid of Harry (and probably Hermione as well) once the two heirs were born and was ready to go along with it that made Hannah dead to her.

The Potions Masters for this were, of course, Horace Slughorn and Severus Snape, so the Noble House of Slughorn and Minor House of Prince (Snape's mother's family) were also forfeit, as they were both the last of their lines. It didn't take much to break Slughorn and get him to give up everything he knew about the plot, along with what was required to cancel the effects of the potions in Harry and flush them completely from his system. The goblins were actually upset about how quickly he'd buckled, because they'd wanted to punish the one who'd played such a key role in the plot against the man who was the first and foremost Friend and Ally of the Goblin Nation far more than they had.

The rest of them had broken quickly as well, leading to a quick trial of anyone with a significant role in the attempted line theft and murder of the head or heir of the Noble and Most Ancient Houses of Potter, Gryffindor and Black and the French Noble and Ancient House of Flamel. The rest of the Wizengamot was too afraid of Harry and his allies at that point to speak out against the sentences of the other heads of the houses involved in this, or Harry's claim to all of the holdings and titles of the six houses involved by right of conquest. They also didn't argue when his next move was to demand the immediate dissolution of all six houses, forever ending their lines and names and adding fifty votes to the Potter Alliance in the Wizengamot. Five men were sentenced to go through the veil as a result of the attempted line theft and murder case, the Heads of the Houses of Rosier, Macmillan, Parkinson and Abbot, and Hannah Abbot's father. Horace Slughorn had his magic crippled and was given over to the Goblin Nation to work, making potions, for the rest of his life. The pending sentence for Severus Snape would have him working alongside Slughorn if they caught him alive, providing that he hadn't committed more atrocities in the service of Voldemort.

Due to their youth and the evidence which showed that they'd only been obeying their fathers, Pansy Parkinson and Hannah Abbot weren't sentenced to the veil or Azkaban like everyone else who had been involved in the plot. Like Draco No-Name though, Pansy, Hannah and Ernie Macmillan all lost their family names and fortunes when the House of Potter claimed everything their houses had by right of conquest and then eradicated their houses, so it appeared that they were fated to become No-Names as well, staying at Hogwarts through any breaks and working for the Hogwarts staff to earn their board. That wasn't to be though, as Hannah was spared that fate by being taken in and adopted by Lavender Brown's family, and Draco, Pansy and Ernie also _appeared_ to have been taken in by other families, but as they were to discover later, this was just another one of Voldemort's plots.

* * *

The outcome of the trials made the traditional pureblood families all the more desperate to find a way to stop the Potter Alliance, because they had now seized and eradicated two of the top Noble and Ancient Houses, five Noble Houses, including three of the most senior ones, and a senior Minor House. The loss of these houses meant that the traditional families had lost over sixty votes in the Wizengamot to the Potter Alliance, not to mention the other twelve seats and fifty votes that they'd lost to the muggleborns at Potter's instigation, so the balance of power now well and truly rested with the Potter Alliance and the rest of the traditional houses who had opposed them were terrified of what might happen if they continued on the way they were going.

Of the seven seats in the Wizengamot that had been vacated when those eight houses had been eradicated by the Potter Alliance, the traditional families had only managed to claim two of them for Minor Houses who were aligned to them. The seats vacated by the Malfoy and Lestrange families had been claimed by the Potter Alliance when the Minor Houses of Weasley and Lovegood were elevated to Noble Houses with the allocations of Baronies from the County Palatine of Cumbria at that time (the Baronies allocated to House Weasley included sufficient Baronetcies for Charlie and the twins to each be allocated a Baronet, and Arthur had also retained the title of Baron Weasley when he stepped aside and made Bill Baron Weasley and Head of the Noble House of Weasley, which further elevated the status of House Weasley) and yet another when the Minor House of Lupin was elevated to a Noble House after Remus's full rights were reinstated and a substantial Barony was allocated to him. On top of that, the Potter Alliance had also pushed through the motion for one of the vacated seats to go to the Ambassador from the Goblin Nation, allocating enough holdings to the seat to give him nine votes and make their voice be heard, and another seat with a further nine votes being allocated to the Muggle Queen's new Governor of Magical Britain to give her a voice in the Wizengamot. The traditional families had no chance of reclaiming any of the sixty odd votes they'd lost with those seven seats, so they had to reallocate their own holdings to give votes to the new seats and try to use the extra voices in the Wizengamot to shout down or create doubt about the proposals they wanted to stop.

It didn't help that Angela's family, the Noble House of Fawley, was one of the houses who always opposed them. The fact that her husband's house, the Noble House of Lupin, had now been elevated from a Minor house to be the equal of House Fawley and Angela generally controlled almost half of the votes in the Wizengamot because she held proxies for all of the Potter Alliance didn't sit at all with her great uncle, who was the Head of House Fawley. Nor did the fact that Angela generally stamped out whatever he was supporting because it opposed the aims of the Potter Alliance.

* * *

The actual leaving feast for that year at Hogwarts was a rather muted affair due to the fact that word of what the traditional families had tried to do had already gotten around the school. The Founders Group did cause a stir when they left Hogwarts though, because they left in a much smaller and more elegant version of the Beauxbatons flying carriage, which was drawn by a dozen thestrals in a staggered hitch. The speed of the thestrals and the fact that only a small percentage of the magical population could see them meant that with a simple disillusionment cast over the carriage, it was a fast and invisible way to travel. The reason that they chose this method of transport was that Fleur was getting close to term with the twins and they didn't want to inflict the strain of magical transportation on her or them. Fleur was already wishing that veela didn't have a longer gestation period than humans, because she just wanted the pregnancy to be over.

Three or four weeks after they returned to Potter Manor, they discovered that while the lust and imperius portions of the potions that Harry had been given had keyed purely to Pansy and Hannah, the potency potion had apparently been general _and_ they'd either been too distracted to take precautions when Hermione tried get his mind off his worries about the champagne or the potion _had_ effected her, because they found out that she was pregnant. While they were happy about that (once Harry's mother-in-law and father-in-law managed to accept the idea that their baby would be having a baby of her own at sixteen), they had other concerns that demanded their attention at that time. They were in the middle of the trials that related to the line theft and murder case, they had Fleur getting closer to having the twins, and they were having to deal with retaliatory attacks from Voldemort's people after the fifteen Death Eaters from the Hall of Prophecy were tried and sent through the Veil of Death (Hermione knew that there had been something that had terrified her about that bloody arch).

* * *

When Voldemort had stepped up his attacks against muggles, Minister Diggory, Madam Bones and the core fighters in the family started meeting with the Muggle Prime Minister and his people again to try and help him get his people ready to deal with the attacks.

Given that they now knew that the Queen's people had an automatically updating record of all the peerages and minor nobilities of Magical Britain, they weren't too surprised to hear that they were being called for another meeting with the Queen when they went back for more meetings, because they expected that there would be more than a few questions about the changes to the titles of members of the group. Therefore the call for the entire group to formally present themselves to the Queen was no great surprise.

What they didn't know however, was that Minister Diggory and Amelia had taken the Ministry's penseive to the palace to allow the Queen to view memories of some of Harry's adventures that she'd been told about, and also to show the leaders of the forces that had been put together to address the threat of Voldemort what they would be going up against. Amelia had also brought Augusta in to properly educate Queen on the history of Noble House Politics in Magical Britain, including the fact that Magical Britain was still ruled largely autonomously by the Magical Aristocracy under County Palatines (with only a handful of Minor Houses being allowed to sit on the Wizengamot and have a voice), and that titles and holdings could be claimed by right of conquest through court proceedings in Magical Britain.

Augusta explained to the Queen and her people that even though House Potter could trace its roots back to the original handful of important Magical Noble Houses in Britain and had always been one of Magical Britain's most powerful houses, it had been struck from the pureblood lists even before Magical Britain had been officially created, because the sole heiress to the title of the Earl of Cumbria at that time had married a muggleborn wizard of lesser nobility, who she met when they were studying together at Hogwarts. The House name had been changed to Potter when their son inherited the title of the Earl of Cumbria.

She also explained how the Earl of Cumbria (the House of Potter), along with the Earl of Powys (the House of Black) and the Earl of Wessex (the House of Peverell, now extinct), as the three most powerful Magical Noble Houses in Britain, holding the key Magical County Palatines as they were at the time, had all been designated Marquesses prior to the Charter for Magical Britain being created. She told how the families of the four founders of Hogwarts had all been granted the Counties and titles of Ealdormen at the start of the eleventh century in recognition of the significance of the creation of the first seat of magical learning, adding that Lord Gryffindor was Earl of Ross with the Magical County Palatine of Ross (which included Hogwarts and Hogsmeade Village), but as the line of Gryffindor was dormant by the time the Charter of Magical Britain was created, the Earl of Ross was not designated a Marquess like the other three. And she explained how the forms of address in Noble Magical Britain related to their Houses rather than their titles, so for example Harry was addressed as Lord Potter or Marquess Potter, rather than Lord Cumbria or the Marquess of Cumbria in Magical Britain.

Augusta had also filled the Queen in on the more recent developments in the Wizengamot, including how Harry's Great, Great, Great Grandfather had pushed through the acts to give Gringotts back to the goblins in the 1860s and how his Great Grandfather Henry Potter (who he was named after) had fought for Magical Britain to help Non-Magical Britain in the First World War. She finished with providing the Queen with quite a bit of detail on the current affairs in the Wizengamot, which were being driven primarily by Harry and Angela.

The Queen was already aware of some of this as she'd authorised the selection and appointment of a noble muggleborn wizard to the position of Governor of Magical Britain, and subsequently authorised him to act on behalf of her realm in the Wizengamot seat that was allocated to the Governor, but she hadn't realised how much of this had been driven by young Lord Potter, his erstwhile Regent who controlled most of the Potter Alliance votes via proxies and Lord Black, using the power of the County Palatines of Cumbria and Powys, until Augusta explained it to her.

* * *

Their visit to the palace had to be delayed a few weeks until after Fleur had the twins (luckily just after Harry's birthday, so he became a father at fifteen, rather than fourteen), but just as the rest of the girls were jealous of the veelas' ability to put a pregnancy on hold until they were ready to deal with it, they were also jealous of the way the veela healing made the births a simple and apparently painless affair and how fast Fleur recovered from the births. The important thing, of course, was that both Fleur and the babies were healthy and happy and, needless to say, beautiful.

The delay also meant that their results arrived before they had their meeting with the Queen, and these were enough to put them all in a good frame of mind. The nine who took their NEWT exams took thirteen subjects (Potions, Charms, Herbology, Astronomy, Transfiguration, History of Magic, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, Advanced Arithmancy Studies, Alchemy and Ancient Studies), and while only Harry and Hermione got straight 'O's, none of them got less than eight 'O's, with the rest 'E's. The five who took their OWLs took ten subjects (all except Advanced Arithmancy Studies, Alchemy and Ancient Studies), and they all got straight 'O's, so they were going into their NEWT year strong. They were still working over the Summer break to get as far ahead as they could, but their OWL scores gave them plenty of confidence.

Hagrid's results weren't anywhere near as good as their's, because of the nine subjects he took, he only got one 'O' (for Care of Magical Creatures) but he did get 'E's for Herbology, Astronomy, History of Magic and Defence Against the Dark Arts, and 'A's for the other four. That was enough for him to be accepted as properly qualified to teach Care of Magical Creatures though, and he was ecstatic about finally completing his Hogwarts education.

* * *

As they had been instructed to _formally_ present themselves to the Queen, they transported the pick of the limousines in the 'garage' at Potter Manor (the Potter family had been collecting performance and luxury vehicles and motorcycles from nearly the turn of the century up until the present day, because the goblins and the Potter elves had continued collecting interesting vehicles and motorcycles after Harry's parents died) down to London and transferred from the flying carriage to the cars there. The cavalcade that took them to the palace was made up of 1963, 1966  & 1969 Lincoln Continental Executive Limousines and a Rolls Royce Long Wheelbase Phantom I & II, plus a Phantom III, V & VI and Silver Spur I & III Touring Limousines. When they arrived, those responsible for the official royal vehicles at the palace all came out to drool over these vehicles, because they looked as though they'd just come off the showroom floor (no-one was going to tell them that they were kept in stasis, so none of them were effectively more than a month or two old, even the ones that were built nearly seventy years ago).

The announcements when they were presented to the Queen took quite some time, with Harry and his wives; "Lord Potter, Marquess Potter, Head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter, also Earl Gryffindor, Head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Gryffindor, Comte Flamel, Head of the French Noble and Ancient House of Flamel and Earl Black, Heir to Marquess Black and the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, with Marchioness Potter, Countess Gryffindor, Comtesse Flamel and Countess Black."

By order of rank, Sirius had to go next, but he was easy; "Marquess Black, Head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black."

They next had Luna; "Lady Lovegood, Countess Ravenclaw-Slytherin, Head of the Noble and Most Ancient Houses of Ravenclaw and Slytherin."

The Longbottoms; "Earl Longbottom, Head of the Noble and Ancient House of Longbottom, with Countess Longbottom, the Dowager Countess Longbottom, Chief Witch of the Wizengamot of Magical Britain and Viscount Longbottom, Heir to Earl Longbottom and the Noble and Ancient House of Longbottom."

The Bones family; "Viscountess Bones, Heiress to Countess Bones and the Noble and Ancient House of Bones with Madam Bones, Regent for Countess Bones and the Noble and Ancient House of Bones, also Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement for Magical Britain."

The Delacour family; "Comte Delacour, Head of the French Noble and Ancient House of Delacour and Deputy Minister of Magic for France, with Comtesse Delacour. Vicomtesse Delacour, Heiress to Comtesse Delacour and the French Noble and Ancient House of Delacour with the Honourable Mademoiselle Henriette Delacour and Mademoiselle Harriette Delacour, and Baroness Delacour." The fact that Fleur was holding Henriette and Harriette helped to hurry this section along a little.

And of course the ever confusing Weasleys; "Baron Arthur Weasley, Patriarch of the Weasley family. Baron William Weasley, Head of the Noble House of Weasley with Baroness Weasley. Baronet Charles Weasley, Heir to Baron Weasley and the Noble House of Weasley. Baronet George Weasley with Miss Angelina Johnson and Baronet Frederick Weasley with Miss Katherine Bell."

It didn't take long to get through Daphne; "Baroness Greengrass, Heiress to Viscountess Greengrass and the Noble House of Greengrass." Xeno and Padma; "Baron Lovegood, Head of the Noble House of Lovegood with Miss Padma Lovegood, Heiress to Baroness Lovegood and the Noble House of Lovegood." The Diggorys; "Baronet Diggory, Head of the Minor House of Diggory and Minister of Magic for Magical Britain with Lady Diggory." The Grangers; "Mister and Missus Daniel Granger." and the Tonks; "Mister and Missus Theodore Tonks."

With the announcements out of the way, the Queen allowed herself a few minutes to dote over Fleur's beautiful (half human? surely not) babies, and then got down to business. When Augusta, Amelia, Angela and Minister Diggory joined her in presenting the matters she was raising, the others knew that this had all been planned out. Harry's first thought when he realised that though was 'What are they going to drop on me now?'

The Queen took some paperwork from her advisor and started into it. "In our discussions with Ladies Longbottom and Lupin on the history and basis of the Noble House Political structure of Magical Britain, and discussions with our advisors, we have determined that the underpinnings of the Magical County Palatines of Cumbria, Ross and Powys are insufficient to uphold the current population and activities of Magical Britain. When Magical Britain was originally created through the Magical Charter with support of the Magical County Palatines of Cumbria, Ross, Powys and Wessex, they were deemed sufficient at that time to honour the agreements of the Charter. However, Lady Longbottom and Lupin have advised us that the population and scope of Magical Britain have increased considerably beyond what was agreed in the Magical Charter, also the current Wizengamot has expanded far beyond the bounds of the Council of Wizards that was in force when the Magical Charter was signed and furthermore, Magical Britain now also added the Ministry of Magic which was not catered for when the Magical Charter was signed. What is more, Magical Britain no longer has control of the Magical County Palatine of Wessex, which was required to allow self rule in those parts of Magical Britain that reside in Southern England, which is apparently the very place where Magical Britain is concentrated and managed from now. From Lady Longbottom's explanation, it is also our understanding that the Council of Wizards originally sat in other locations within the Magical County Palatines, where the magic was stronger."

She stopped to check on something, and Harry, Hermione and the others took the opportunity to look at Augusta, Amelia, Angela and Minister Diggory worriedly, but saw that they were still relaxed, so they breathed a sigh of relief, obviously there was a plan in the works, they just had to wait for Her Majesty to reveal it to them. Harry for one was _not_ expecting it when it came though. "We have consulted with our advisors, along with the Ladies Longbottom and Lupin, Madam Bones and your Minister of Magic, and we have approved the course of action that they have advised. Herewith, the titles, Magical Counties and other holdings of the Marquess of Wessex are to be reinstated and bestowed upon Marquess Potter, as though the Peverell line has been deemed extinct, we have been shown sufficient proof to determine that Marquess Potter has a valid claim to the Marquess of Wessex's title and holdings as a descendent of the House of Peverell. Furthermore, the titles, Magical Counties and other holdings of the Countess of Leinster are to be reinstated and bestowed upon Marquess Black, as though the Hufflepuff line has now been deemed extinct, we have been shown sufficient proof to determine that Marquess Black has a valid claim to titles for Leinster through shared bloodlines with the Kings of Leinster. In addition to this, we are extending the boundaries of the Magical Palatines to meet the expanded requirements of Magical Britain. The Marquess of Cumbria is hereby bequeathed the Magical Duchy Palatine of Northumbria, which has the scope of the late ninth century Kingdom of Northumbria, and the Magical Duchy Palatine of Wessex, which has the scope of the late ninth century Kingdom of Wessex. The Earl of Ross is hereby bequeathed the Magical Duchy Palatine of Highland, which has the scope of the Scottish Highlands, the Marquess of Powrys is bequeathed the Magical Duchy Palatine of Gwynned, which has the scope of the Kingdoms of Gwynned, Powrys and Deheubarth in the early eleventh century and the Magical Duchy Palatine of Leinster, which has the scope of the ancient Kingdoms of Mide, Osraige and Leinster. The Countess of Lincolnshire is bequeathed the Magical Duchy Palatine of Mercia, which has the scope of the late ninth century Kingdom of Mercia and the Countess of Norfolk is bequeathed the Magical Duchy Palatine of East Anglia, which has the scope of the late ninth century Kingdom of East Anglia."

The Queen glanced at Angela and Harry could have sworn he saw a smirk flash across her face. "Furthermore, in recognition of the efforts of Baron and Baroness Lupin on behalf of both Magical Britain and our realm, they are herewith to be elevated to Earl and Countess Lupin with the investiture of the title, Magical County of Morgannwyg, which has the scope of the Kingdom of Morgannwyg in the late eleventh century, and all other titles and holdings of the Earl of Morgannwyg to Baron Lupin as we have been shown proofs that he is related to the original Earl of that extinct line. The Magical County of Morgannwyg and additional Magical Counties held by Dukes Potter-Gryffindor and Black, Duchess Ravenclaw-Slytherin, Countess Bones and Earl Longbottom will be also elevated to Magical County Palatines. The advice we have been given indicates that these measures will be sufficient bring Magical Britain back into accordance with the terms of the Charter for Magical Britain. Duke Potter and Countess Lupin will also be inducted into the Order of the Garter…. Duke Potter, I have been informed that you have a rather special sword that we hope that we may use for these ceremonies?"

Harry was too stunned to speak, but when he looked at Augusta, Amelia and Minister Diggory, they nodded to say that what the Queen had said was correct, and that the experts agreed that this was what was required to fix the situation Magical Britain was in. Then Harry looked at Angela, but she wasn't in a much better state than he was, because while she'd been involved in the other Magical Duchy and County discussions, they'd blindsided her with Remus's title elevation and the Order of the Garter.

Just then Harry realised that he hadn't answered the Queen. "I am so sorry Your Majesty, I just wasn't expecting this and I really don't know what to say or do. Yes, I do have such a sword, but there are dangers involved with this sword.… May I call a friend who may help us offset these dangers your Majesty?" When the Queen nodded regally, saying. "By all means Duke Potter." he turned to the guards in the room. "Do you confirm that you have heard the Queen asking me to get my sword and allowing me to call my friend?"

Both of them nodded, but he muttered under his breath. "I really hope that they don't react to this." as he stood to call for Fawkes. After she'd flamed into the room and settled to perch on the back of the seat he'd vacated, he greeted her and then before they really had time to get their heads around the fact that a real, live phoenix had just magically appeared in a burst of flame, he reached out and called for the Sword of Gryffindor. The sight of the blazing sword suddenly appearing in his hand made the guards reach for their guns or their wands again, but at least they weren't pointing either at him or Fawkes.

When the situation seemed stable, Harry turned back to the Queen. "Your Majesty, the reason I called for Fawkes is that the Sword of Gryffindor is a magical goblin blade, the brother of Excalibur actually. One of the properties of the sword is that it absorbs the lethal qualities of whatever it destroys, so the slightest cut from it could potentially kill any one of us. As I've had cause to find for myself though, Fawkes' tears can counteract the basilisk venom that has been absorbed into its blade, and nearly anything else as well, which is why I have called her here."

The Queen waved a hand at Fawkes. "Do we understand correctly that this magnificent creature's name is Fawkes?"

When he answered "Yes, Ma'am." she bowed her head to Fawkes as she addressed her. "We thank you for coming to help us ward off any accidents Fawkes, you have our gratitude."

Fawkes gave a happy trill at being addressed with such respect which left no doubt as to her intent as happiness washed over everyone in the room, then Harry reversed the sword before moving towards the Queen, resting the point on the floor as he offered the bejewelled hilt to her. Her ladylike grunt as she lifted the sword that Harry had been waving about as if it were as light as a feather told those who didn't already know how heavy the sword was for anyone else. At that, Harry contritely blurted out. "My abject apologies Your Majesty, I neglected to mention that the sword's magic only works for me, so for anyone else the Sword of Gryffindor is a normal sword of its era, and as such it was meant to be wielded by strong men."

"That is quite alright Duke Potter, we do understand what a proper sword weighs, we were merely taken by surprise by the weight after seeing you handle it so easily. We are actually heartened to know that your strength is not so far beyond normal men's that you could handle this weight as if it were nothing. That, on top of everything else, could have served to make you a figure of legend, rather than the admiral and charming young man that we have had the pleasure of coming to know to the degree that we have."

Harry blushed as he ducked his head, mumbling. "Yes Ma'am." so he missed the smile that briefly crossed her face as she took in his reaction, happy to see that the humble and charming young man that she'd met on his last visit remained.

She bid him kneel and then called for an oath not to use the powers vested in him with the Magical Duchy Palatines of Northumbria, Wessex and Highland and his additional Magical County Palatines to take action against Magical Britain, her or the people of her realm. He gave the magical oath required, and even the non-magical people in the room felt the magic as the oath and the investiture were accepted. She then inducted him as a Knight of the Garter.

With Harry's ceremonies completed the Queen called for and received similar oaths for the investiture of the Magical Duchy Palatines of Gwynned, Leinster, Mercia and East Anglia and Magical County Palatines from Sirius, Luna, Susan, Frank and Remus. She then called for and received magical oaths from Minister Diggory, Augusta, as the Chief Witch of the Wizengamot and Amelia, as the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and therefore the closest thing to a military commander for Magical Britain, under the Magical Charter that Magical Britain would not take action against her or the people of her realm. The effect of the others' oaths were less than Harry's, but they were still felt. Finally she called on Angela to give her magical oath not to take action against Magical Britain, her or her realm and inducted her as a Lady of the Garter.

Harry caused a stir with those who hadn't seen it before when he sheathed the Sword of Gryffindor in Fang (which hung from his belt as always) upon its return by the Queen, and it disappeared right before their eyes.

Reference to the Queen's automatically updating record of the peerages and minor nobilities of Magical Britain showed that the titles and holdings for the six new Magical Duchies had all been recorded, as had the reinstatement of the Marquess of Wessex, Earl of Leinster and Earl of Morgannwyg's titles and holdings, and the change to Magical Duchy and County Palatines for the Duchies and Counties that they held. It also showed that Susan was no longer listed as the Heiress to the Noble and Ancient House of Bones, because she was now shown as Countess Bones and Head of the House of Bones, and that Harry's Knight of the Garter and Angela's Lady of the Garter were also recorded against their names.

Angela, Augusta and Amelia shared smiles at that, because they knew the panic which would be breaking out among the traditional families as soon as they saw that the balance of power had shifted even further away from them, as the votes for the holdings that were part of Harry and Sirius's new Duchies and Remus's new County would have already been automatically taken away from those who had appropriated them over the centuries since they'd been deemed vacated.

The title, County and holdings of the Earl of Morgannwyg that had been vested in Remus also elevated House Lupin to a senior Noble and Ancient House, because the title pre-dated the Magical Charter and he was related to the original Earl, his new rank also rated the house's elevation.

Between them, these changes had moved the Potter Alliance up to now having over half of the votes in the Wizengamot. This meant that they could not be stopped on anything they tried to put through now and they intended to make use of that power until they had eradicated the threat of Voldemort at least.

With the ceremonies done, they had an informal dinner with the Queen, some members of the Royal Family and the senior staff who had worked on this, which was an enjoyable time for all of them. At the end of the dinner, they paid their respects to the Queen and the members of the Royal Family present and departed in their cavalcade again, either transferring to the flying carriage or popping back to Potter Manor when the cars reached the spot where they left the carriage with the elves and goblins.

* * *

By the time they got back to the Manor, there were outraged demands for an emergency session of the Wizengamot first thing the next morning to get an explanation of the changes that had been seen in the records of titles and holdings waiting for them. They were actually looking forward to this, so all of the Heads of House attended the session, and half of the others also came along because they knew it was going to be one hell of a show.

Augusta opened the session and then gave the floor to Minister Diggory, who explained that they had been called to give explanations for why Magical Britain had been breaching both the laws that they were required to comply with and the terms of the Magical Charter granted to create it from before the Wizengamot was created. The Charter was displayed for all to see and Amos, Augusta, Amelia and the Queen's Governor of Magical Britain explained what areas of the Charter that Magical Britain had been in breach of for centuries now. They then went on to explain that the Minister of Magic, the Chief Witch, the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and Baroness Lupin, as an expert on Noble House Politics and the person holding the proxies of the Potter Alliance and others so that she could effectively vote to agree to any measures that were agreed to be appropriate then and there had been called to meet with the Muggle Queen's representatives and the Muggle Prime Minister to redress those issues that were seen to be a problem.

Amos waved at the Charter that had been used to create Magical Britain and allow it a degree of self rule, and began to point out the many areas where Magical Britain had been found to be in breach of the terms of the Charter. First, he pointed out that Magical Britain had expanded far beyond the terms that had been agreed in the Magical Charter, and that the holdings of the Marquess of Wessex, who had held one of the four Magical County Palatines that had been used to meet the requirements of the Charter at the time had been broken up without the authority of the King when the line of Peverell had been deemed to be extinct, and how that had removed Magical Britain's authority for self rule over the people of Magical Britain who were located in Southern England, and also put them well below what was required to support the population of Magical Britain at that time.

Then it was pointed out how the Council of Wizards had been replaced by the much larger Wizengamot, again without the authority of the King and in breach of the charter, and the activities of Magical Britain in that region of Southern England where they no longer had any authorisation to be had been increased considerably as the population of Magical Britain increased. The breaches increased yet again when the Ministry of Magic had been created (again without the King's authorisation) in _London,_ in the very part of England where they had no authorisation to be. After two hours, they started on the measures that had been agreed between the parties to redress these issues.

Augusta pointed out that the Queen and her representatives had deemed that, on the available evidence, Lord Potter of the House of Potter and Lord Black of the House of Black had historically upheld the terms of the Magical Charter more than any other nobles in Magical Britain. Therefore, as the extant holders of two of the original four Magical County Palatines that had been approved to support the terms of the Charter for Magical Britain, the titles, Counties and other holdings of the Marquess of Wessex and the Earl of Leinster (which had also been broken up without any proper authorisation when the Earl's line had been deemed extinct) had been reinstated and bequeathed to them. That caused an immediate uproar that took half an hour to quieten down before they could go on.

It was still Augusta who was explaining this, and truth be told, she was quite enjoying upsetting the traditional families like this. She went on to explain that the Queen and her people had accepted the proofs that Lord Potter was a descendent of the Peverell line, and this was deemed sufficient to grant the Marquess of Wessex's titles and holdings to him. They had also accepted the proofs that Lord Black's shared bloodlines with the Kings of Leinster as a valid claim for the Leinster titles. She then went on to explain how the many fold increases in the population and scope of Magical Britain had been deemed to require an equivalent increase in the Magical Palatines to bring Magical Britain into compliance with the terms of the Charter. For this purpose, the holders of the Magical County Palatines of Cumbria, Wessex, Powrys and Ross and the additional Counties of Lincolnshire, Norfolk and Leinster all been elevated to Dukes and Duchess when they were bequeathed the seven Magical Duchies of Northumbria, Wessex, Gwynned, Leinster, Highland, Mercia, and East Anglia respectively. The Magical Duchies and Counties of the Dukes and Duchesses of Magical Britain and the Earls and Countesses present were then all elevated to Magical Duchy or County Palatines. Furthermore, the Queen had recognised the efforts of Baron and Baroness Lupin on behalf of both Magical and non-Magical Britain and the fact that Baron Lupin was related by blood to the original Earl, so the title, County and other holdings of the Earl of Morgannwyg (which had, again, been broken up without any proper authorisation) were reinstated and bequeathed to Baron Lupin, the Magical County of Morgannwyg was also elevated to a Magical County Palatine to meet the needs of Magical Britain.

This prompted another half hour of outraged shouting from many of the Wizengamot before they could be brought in line and then Augusta started again. "The fact that the magical records have been accepted and updated shows that the actions taken were right and proper. The Marquesses Potter and Black and Earl Gryffindor have been elevated to Dukes Potter-Gryffindor and Black and Countess Ravenclaw-Slytherin has been elevated to Duchess Ravenclaw-Slytherin. In addition to this, the designation for their five houses has been changed to Most Noble and Most Ancient, as they now hold the highest title possible for the nobility of Magical Britain. Baron Lupin has been elevated to Earl Lupin, and in conjunction with this, the House of Lupin has been elevated to the status of Noble and Ancient by right of the Magical Title and holdings bequeathed to it."

"The magical instruments have reallocated all titles, holdings and associated votes rightfully belonging to the Marquess of Wessex, Earl of Leinster and Earl of Morgannwyg to the new holders of these titles. The Magical Palatines that are required to maintain the agreed degree of self rule for Magical Britain have also been properly recorded against the holdings of Dukes Potter-Gryffindor and Black, Duchess Ravenclaw-Slytherin, Countess Bones and Earls Longbottom and Lupin. These Dukes, Duchess, Countess and Earls of Magical Britain have all magically sworn to uphold the laws that apply to Magical Britain and the terms of the Charter of Magical Britain. Minister Diggory, myself and Madam Bones have also sworn to do so on behalf of the Wizengamot and the Ministry of Magic, as has Countess Lupin as a significant member of the Wizengamot. The Queen's Governor of Magical Britain has been required by the Queen to take this magical oath from all members of the Wizengamot, as this requirement was written into the original Charter of Magical Britain. Any Wizengamot Member refusing to give this oath will lose their seat and the right to vote on the Wizengamot. Once again, this prompted another half hour of shouting from the members, this session was becoming a marathon.

* * *

Once the Wizengamot members accepted that they weren't going to get around the requirements that were written into the charter that created Magical Britain, they moved on to something else that provided Augusta, Amelia and Angela with a great deal of amusement and satisfaction, the fact that over a dozen of the traditional houses were now looking at losing their seats in the Wizengamot, or at least being degraded, because the holdings that their families had appropriated centuries ago had now been reclaimed and allocated to their rightful owners.

Augusta decreed that any houses that could not show that they retained sufficient holdings to maintain their seats before the end of the session would be struck off the roll for the Wizengamot. That sent those who had lost holdings scurrying all over the chamber, begging and offering whatever they could in the hope of scrounging up enough holdings to retain their seats. The new additional step that the members did not appreciate at all was that they now had to obtain the written approval of the Duke or Duchess who held the Magical Duchy Palatine where the holdings that they wished to allocate were located before they could do so.

Harry and the others were amazed that some of the traditional houses actually came cap in hand, begging to _them_ in an attempt to scrounge up the holdings they needed to avoid losing status in the Wizengamot. Some were refused politely, but most were sent packing with laughter.

The one who was ridiculed the most was Angela's great uncle, because the House of Fawley was one of those who had lost enough holdings to lose its seat and be downgraded to a Minor House. She started out politely refusing, because she'd been taught to respect the elders of her family, but the abuse, ridicule and harassment that she'd had to endure from him over the years, especially since she became Harry's Regent came back to her and she stopped. "You know what, no, even where I _am_ authorised to make deals to help houses retain their seats, I wouldn't make a deal with you. Your stupid, narrow minded bigotry is something that the Wizengamot could definitely do without, and I wouldn't trust you to honour any deal you made anyway. Go away old man!"

He'd started abusing her and calling her everything under the sun (nice way to behave towards a family member), when he suddenly heard a quiet voice in his ear. "Now that's not very nice Uncle Eustace, after all, the lady is a member of your family _and my wife_! Hmmm, isn't it a full moon next week? Never mind, I think that it will be a perfect time for a moonlight family reunion, don't you?" He looked at Angela. "What do you think Countess Lupin, should I make the effort to catch up with my in-laws next Tuesday evening?"

Angela's smile was positively evil. "I think that that would be a wonderful idea Earl Lupin. Just between you and me though, I think my family tree really needs some of the old growth pruned from it so that it can be allowed to grow…."

At that, Angela's uncle ran off, looking for an Auror to protect him from the werewolf who was threatening to kill him next week. He was giving Amelia a greatly embellished account of what had happened when Remus walked up to them and Amelia made a point of ignoring Eustace to give Remus a hug and kiss him on the cheek. "It's getting bad in here Remus, Mister Fawley here was just telling me how some werewolf was threatening to slaughter his entire family and then desecrate their corpses, and his wife was going to help him, isn't that awful?"

Remus played along. "That's terrible Uncle Eustace, why didn't you say anything about that when you were talking to Angela and I a minute ago?"

Angela's uncle started screaming. "It's him! It's him! Arrest him! And get that blood traitor whore he's married to as well!"

Amelia had to fight to keep the disgust she was feeling at the man off her face, so she turned to Remus. "Earl Lupin, do you have any idea what _Mister_ Fawley is talking about? Surely he's not referring to Countess Lupin, his own great niece, in those terms?"

"Unfortunately I believe that he is Madam Director, he was demanding that my wife give him the holdings he needed to keep his seat on the Wizengamot, but when she told him that she didn't have the authority to make deals to trade holdings he became quite abusive and threatening. I asked him not to talk to my wife, his niece, that way, and we even tried to arrange a family get together next week but he ran off. I came over here to try and ensure that he doesn't get himself into trouble, but after what I just heard I don't believe that I should have bothered."

Amelia turned back to Angela's Uncle. "I would be very careful about what stories you try to spread about your betters in public Mister Fawley. If _Earl_ Lupin chose to do so, he could quite easily destroy you, financially, socially, and in many other ways for actions such as this. Do not come to me or my people with these types of lies again or I'll have you locked up."

Angela's uncle ran out of the chamber then and Amelia looked up to see Augusta watching, Amelia made an angry motion to cross something out, and Augusta gave an evil smile as she marked the Fawley seat as defaulted.

Some of the Muggleborn Block were in a similar position to the traditional families, as they'd acquired their holdings from the families who'd lost their seats, but they were taking a lot more pragmatic approach, they had been allocated the holdings as a group to give them a voice, so they just reallocated what they could spare to the ones who had lost holdings where needed. Harry arranged to allocate some other holdings to the Ambassador of the Goblin Nation and the Governor of Magical Britain to replace the votes that they had lost when some holdings had been reclaimed. Xeno and the Weasleys were fine, as their Baronies had been allocated out of the original County Palatine of Cumbria.

In the end, all but three of the houses managed to avoid losing their seats, but the expressions on the ones who'd gone begging for holdings to keep their seats made it obvious that they'd had to give up far more than they wanted to to get those holdings. Two houses had been degraded from Noble and Ancient to Noble, three more from Noble to Minor, and another dozen had lost votes through the reallocation of holdings without actually being degraded, so very few of them were at all happy about what had happened.

The session ended up going for nearly seven hours, between the deals and contracts being made to get the holdings needed to hang on to their seats and the Governor taking the Wizengamot members' oaths. Three more seats were vacated when the members refused to take the oaths, not believing that the Chief Witch had been serious when she told them that they would be out of the Wizengamot if they didn't.

By the time the session finished, six seats had been vacated (three through losing too many holdings and three because they refused to take the oath) and the only ones who were happy were the Potter Alliance, the Goblin Ambassador, the Governor, the majority of the Muggleborn Block and some of the neutral families. Even they were getting worn down by the goings on in the chamber by the end though.

Amos also had to replace three of the Department Heads in the Ministry when he fired them because they refused to take the oath. He had discussed it with Augusta, Amelia and the Governor, and they'd agreed that Department Heads, Deputies and those running any significant sections, like the Aurors' Office, should all be required to take the same oath they had. Most couldn't understand the need to do this, but took the oaths because the requirement wasn't new, after all they'd had to take oaths that they weren't working with Voldemort, but some refused as they regarded muggles (like goblins, elves, centaurs and the rest) as too far below them to rate any concessions and so wouldn't take any oath that required them to protect the muggles' interests.

 **A/N:** **OK,** **I know I said previously that** **only the royal family were** **Dukes, but a bit more research proved me wrong, so I'm giving myself more latitude. ;^)**

 **The purpose of the Magical Duchy and County Palatines was to pretty much cover England and Wales, much of Scotland and parts of Ireland with holdings which were enough to meet the requirements for self rule that were laid out in the Charter for Magical Britain.**


	24. Eat Death

**I probably should clarify something about my mixed up, muddled up world here, I made a few amendments to Bringing Down the House in order to specify the scope of the Duchy's that were created, and add one more for Sirius and two more for Luna as well. You see, the purpose of these Magical Duchy and County Palatines (in my world) is primarily to provide the necessary coverage over most of Magical Britain to meet the conditions for self rule that were written into the Charter for Magical Britain. The only real areas where they gained anything tangible were the quite substantial and important County of Wessex being reinstated and bequeathed to Harry, the quite large County of Leinster being reinstated and bequeathed to Sirius and the fairly large County of Morgannwyg being reinstated and bequeathed to Remus. The Magical Duchy Palatines of Northumbria, Wessex, Gwynned, Leinster, Highland, Mercia, and East Anglia are using the borders of those Kingdoms from the 9th or 11th centuries and cover most of Britain and over a quarter of Ireland. The other County Palatines that the Dukes, Duchess, Countess and Earls hold are mainly serving to fill the holes in that coverage across the rest of Scotland and Ireland.**

 **The reasoning behind making these Counties and Duchies into Palatines was that Palatines granted a great deal of autonomy from the crown within the given County or Duchy to the Earl or Duke who held them, thereby providing the basis for self rule within Magical Britain. For the purpose of argument, we're saying that the majority of the activity in Magical Britain was kept within the bounds of the four original Magical County Palatines of Cumbria, Powys, Wessex and Ross at the time that the Charter for Magical Britain was signed. Of course, the fact that this makes Harry and Sirius Dukes and Luna a Duchess is just fun. ;^)**

 **NB: As a reviewer of one of my other stories commented a few months ago, the one constant of most 'anonymous' reviewers is that they seem to be unable or unwilling to read or comprehend English. Like many writers have been saying for years here, I _really_ wish that Fanfiction would allow writers the option of refusing to allow _any_ 'anonymous reviews' to be posted to their stories, because 99% of the abuse that writers get on this site comes from those ones who are too cowardly to admit who they are, so they make sure that they can't be called out for what they say. **

**I've had one on this story who was obviously just skimming through it for the sole purpose of leaving piles of 'anonymous reviews' all the way through. They've been accusing me of all sorts of things that they would have _know_ _n_ weren't true if they'd actually read the story (or hadn't just been trying to aggravate me). What I don't understand is, why would someone even bother going all the way through a story to comment on things they don't read? Why not just give up on it and move on to something that's more their cup of tea? Unless it was someone who _did_ make her first review (without bothering to read more than my opening note) under her own name and didn't like it when I refused to give in and change everything to suit her view of things….. was that you writing all those 'anonymous reviews' Mum?**

 **Sorry if anyone's been waiting for this. As noted above, I've been rather aggravated by the troll, so I've been spending more time reading some of the other writers' entertaining stories.**

 **Usual disclaimers, no rights to any characters portrayed and this is neither the real world not a Disney Princess tale.**

The next few weeks after they were presented to the Queen and then turned the Wizengamot upside down were devoted to family time as much as possible. The girls who were going back to Hogwarts tried to spend what time they had left with the others, and especially Gabi with the twins, because Fleur wouldn't transport them magically until they were older. They knew that the others would be popping in and out of the Founders Tower, but they'd have to come back to Potter Manor to see Fleur and the twins, for a while anyway.

As much as Harry and the others who'd finished their NEWTs wished that they could spend more time with the girls before they went back to Hogwarts, they had piles of work to do, including working with Amelia to get more Aurors trained. They knew that, once Voldemort was actually finished, there wouldn't be any justification for the Ministry to maintain a large Auror force, but Harry was funding the facilities and costs to put large groups though training in the interim. The trainees were told up front that only the best would become Aurors after the training, but they were getting paid a reasonable stipend while they were training, and they were learning skills to improve themselves and keep their families and themselves safe, so most of them were quite happy with the deal. The fact that a lot of them were muggleborn and half-bloods meant that this was the best offer they were likely to get, and their families were the ones who were at risk from Voldemort's followers as well.

The first part of the weeding out process in the Auror training was based on temperament and intent, basically, if the trainers didn't feel that they could be trusted, or other trainees reported something about them and it was found to be true, they were out of the program, as the muggleborns said. That part of the screening process continued all the way through, but they waited a while before they started weeding them out because they couldn't keep up. This was because Harry and the others had seen at Hogwarts that it took some people a while before they started to get it. Remus, Angela, Tonks and the students had all seen people who had seemed to be hopeless suddenly turn things around and start doing well when it finally 'clicked' with them, so they wanted to give the trainees the chance to get to that point.

There was another element to this as well, because the recent changes to the status of many pureblood families had created the situation where there were more than a few angry, disenchanted and disenfranchised (that was another muggle word that most didn't get at first, but people were picking it up) people in Magical Britain. Ignoring them would be as good as sending them straight into the arms of those who were recruiting for Voldemort, so they were all for giving them a chance and keeping them out of Voldemort's hands if it could help them redeem themselves and move Magical Britain forward.

Some of the Auror trainees also had a problem with being trained by teenagers, but any of them who couldn't or wouldn't get past that were weeded out fairly quickly. While there were _some_ older and sometimes even more experienced trainers around, the Potter Group had done more against Voldemort and his followers than anyone else in this war and Harry at least had been training hard day in, day out for over seven years. The others admittedly had less years and less intensity in their training, but the experienced Aurors had had to admit that they were better than most 'real' Aurors so, if anyone was too short sighted to see past the fact that the person training them was younger than they were and made an issue of it, they were out. The thing was, most of those who were anywhere near as qualified as Harry and the others to train the new Aurors were too busy dealing with the attacks of Voldemort's followers, so they _were_ the best that were available.

* * *

They were also working with the muggle teams that were being put together to deal with Voldemort, and they were getting better, though one of the soldiers who was part of one of the military squads was never going to live down what he screamed at the Death Eaters when they were cutting them down in a fully automatic crossfire in the middle of London after they'd slaughtered everyone standing outside of a popular shop.

While _**"Eat Death you bastards!"**_ might have been catchy, and his Sergeant accepted the argument that he'd just blurted it out at the spur of the moment when he faced the Death Eaters for first time, his Sergeant's response when he was dressing him down was less than impressed. "Jones, I won't have my squad made a laughing stock of by something like this getting about! If I see anything about this in the paper or on the news, you're goin' ta be at the top of my shit list for longer than you care to think about my boy!"

Of course, when the TV stations got their hands on a tourist's camcorder recording of the incident in question they weren't about to let something like that go, and it was all over the news and current affairs shows. Poor Private Jones was going to be paying for his moment of excitement for a _very_ long time.

Aside from Private Jones' gaff, the squads that Muggle Britain put together to protect people from the Death Eaters were more successful than muggles had ever been before, thanks to Fred and George's devices and the training, advice and assistance that they were given by the Potter Group. They'd dealt with a dozen Death Eaters so far, which was more than the Aurors had this time around, though they did lose one Policeman and three soldiers doing it.

Of course, they were having the same problem with some of the officers and men as they did with some Aurors and trainees when they were trying to teach them how to locate, recognise and deal with Deal Eaters or other dark witches and wizards, they wouldn't listen to them because they dismissed them as children.

Harry had been trained how to deal with people like this before he went to Hogwarts though, that was how he had handled Dumbledore and Snape so easily on his first day there. Hermione read what he wanted via their link and cued up Tonks to start their play, as they knew that Tonks would get the men's attention. In the non-magical world Tonks had gone back to her natural appearance, so she was the spitting image of the striking, raven haired beauties that her mother and Aunt Bella had been in their twenties. She attracted a lot of attention from men in this form so when she piped up with. "Duke Potter, do we have a problem?" they knew it would be heard.

One of the most outspoken ones interfering with their training in this group was a political placement who had been forced on the team by the opposition, citing a need for transparency in secret operations. He was also a minor Baron who tried to rub everyone's nose in the fact that he was a _noble_ and therefore better than them, so bringing attention to the fact that Harry was called a Duke in front of him was sure to get an outraged reaction from him. The reaction was even better than they'd hoped for, as he'd exploded into a pile of threats if they ever had the gall to refer to such a common boy as this by any noble title again.

Harry just looked at him as he pulled out his phone and called the Queen's private secretary to inquire as to what she knew about Baron Wilberforce. The Queen and her staff found this humble but extraordinary young man quite refreshing and charming, so Harry dealt with her office quite frequently. Everyone attached to the force had been checked out before they were engaged for secrecy reasons and the Queen's people had full access to all the details, so Lady Danforth-Snipe had no trouble bringing up the requested information. Harry put his phone on speaker when she started telling him how the current Baron Wilberforce had had a very tenuous claim to his title, and that he'd only inherited it because the first two in the line of succession, the sons of the last Baron, had died when they crashed a stolen car into a building in the middle of London at high speed, adding the gossip that they both had several times the legal limit of alcohol in their systems and the one driving already had had his license suspended for drink driving. She then went on to tell how the third in succession, the current Baron's cousin, had been killed while committing a robbery, which left the current Baron, the son of the youngest brother of the previous Baron, as the only one with any claim to the title when the previous Baron died. She then added a bit more gossip when she him how there had been quite a scandal over the way he'd claimed the title as soon as his uncle died. The story was that he'd laid claim to the title before the man was even buried.

Wilberforce erupted again, shouting that he was going to sue that lying bitch for everything she had, at which Harry hastily apologised to Lady Danforth-Snipe and assured her that she would be getting a suitable apology from the man before he hung up. While they were upset that she had had to hear that, Hermione and Tonks were looking forward to the show, because they hadn't seen Harry tear someone apart as 'Lord Potter' for ages. The Colonel overseeing the operation was standing behind Wilberforce, furious at what he had just heard him say to the Queen's private secretary, because Hermione had send Dommy to collect him as soon as this started. When the men around Wilberforce saw the look Harry was directing at him, half of them stepped back, but Harry's voice was apparently calm and controlled as he spoke.

"You will be making a formal apology to Lady Danforth-Snipe for that disgusting display Wilberforce. Even you shouldn't have trouble finding her to make your apology, as she is the Queen's private secretary. If I don't hear that you have made a proper apology to her that she's prepared to accept by the end of the week, I will drag you there myself, do you understand?"

When Wilberforce stared shouting abuse at him, Harry shut him up with a non-verbal, wandless 'Silencio'. "I asked you whether you understood your instructions! Nod if you understand!"

The only response he got was the man charging at him with his beefy fists raised, so he hit him with an 'Percificous Totalus' and kept talking at him without a change of inflection. "If you weren't such a fool, not to mention a disgrace to both your position and your family, you might have had enough sense to check who was actually on the phone before you abused her. Obviously you don't have any sense or decency, because the language and threats you just hurled at her were totally unacceptable to be directed at any lady, let alone a nice lady who's position is considerably above your's, and who what's more has both the ear and confidence of the Queen. As you're thankfully silent for the moment, I will explain this to you. The reason that I called the Queen's office was to confirm your status and determine whether I had grounds to challenge you to a duel over your comments in regard to my title…."

Hermione cut in at that point. "Harry, you can't challenge anyone to a duel on this side, you know that! Even on our side you wouldn't have been allowed to challenge a minor Baron like him. You know the rules, you can't duel with anyone that far beneath you, didn't you learn anything from those times with Malfoy and the Minister of Magic?"

The Colonel snorted in amusement, as he'd calmed down as soon as he realised what Harry had been intending to do before Wilberforce started abusing Lady Danforth-Snipe like that. When Harry looked up at that, he came forward. "The Duchess is quite correct Duke Potter, we do not allow duelling on this side, and even if we did, _this_ …." he paused to kick Wilberforce in the side. "Would definitely be too far beneath you for you to challenge him. Your three Duke's titles are four levels above his one pitiful _Baron_ for God's sake, let alone the rest of them! He's also too far beneath Lady Danforth-Snipe's husband, which is something I'm glad of actually. You see the Earl's not a young man and he might have felt duty bound come after _this_ to defend his wife's honour as soon as he heard what it had said to her."

"I'll take _this_ off to apologise to Lady Danforth-Snipe, and then we'll….. tidy things up and get him off the force, you have my word that you won't have to deal with him again Duke Potter. Were there any other problems to be addressed here?"

Harry was about to say that they were fine, but Hermione cut in. "Actually, there are Colonel, we're still having trouble with some of the officers and men, as they keep telling us to leave things to the adults."

The Colonel's face hardened as he turned to look at the officers standing around, coldly asking. "Who?"

Harry tried to stop them, but Hermione and Tonks had had enough, and indicated the other ones who'd been making things difficult, he told those officers to report to his office and then asked Harry to release Wilberforce so he could take him away. While Harry was doing that, the Colonel quietly asked Hermione. "I thought you got on with the Minister of Magic Duchess?"

She flashed a grin at him as she replied, not at all quietly. "Oh not Amos Colonel, his predecessor, Harry got rid of him and put Amos in his place."

The Colonel chuckled as he saw the wide eyed looks of the officers who'd overheard that.

* * *

When the other officers came back from the Colonel's office, they were rather subdued and had stopped arguing. This was because they were actually more than a little in awe of them, especially Harry and Sirius, after the Colonel had ended the questions about whether their titles and the other Dukedoms etc in Magical Britain were real by showing them the official proof that the same powerful magical families had been controlling the regions that the original titles of the Dukes of Northumbria, Wessex and Gwynned covered all the way back to the ninth Century, and informed them that these three families had been Britain's original magical nobility.

The 'newer' titles of Dukes of Highland and Leinster and the Duchess of Mercia and East Anglia could still be traced back to the early eleventh century in their families, before the Normans took over. The Magical Britons called these families 'Most Noble and Most Ancient' because they held the highest titles that could be held in Magical Britain and they all pre-dated the Norman Conquest.

Even the lesser titles of the Earls of Morgannwyg, Shropshire, Buckinghamshire, Derbyshire, Essex, Aberdeen, Tayside, Argyle, Dumfries, Munster, Connacht and Ulster and Countesses of Ayr, Mide, Herefordshire and Nottinghamshire held by this group could be traced back to the eleventh to thirteenth centuries in the same families and these families were called 'Noble and Ancient'.

The Colonel explained that the titles for the 'Most Ancient' families in Magical Britain dated back to before the Norman Conquest in the first half of the eleventh century and they were all Dukes or Duchesses, while the 'Ancient' families went from the late eleventh century to the late thirteenth century and were all Earls, Countesses or Viscounts. Anything from the fourteen century on was just 'Noble', and the majority of them were no more than Barons.

The fact was, all of these titles went back further than any of the extant non-magical titles in Britain and the officers for this force had been in part selected because they believed in the Queen and the nobility, so that knowledge, and what the Colonel had told them about he'd seen these people do, meant that those officers were prepared to give Harry and the others the respect they were due now.

Wilberforce didn't come back, and he didn't recognise any of them the next time they ran into him back in the office. Not even Hermione objected to _him_ being obliviated though.

Without Wilberforce and with the others brought into line, this group of the Eat Death force (Private Jones' outburst had been taken up as the unofficial name and motto of the force, much to the chagrin of the Colonel and everyone else in charge) progressed much better than they had before. Once they started listening, they quickly picked up the ability to catch the signs of magic users and make the best use of the rune based omniocular goggles and other devices to identify who the magic users were (the hooded black robes and masks usually tended to give the Death Eaters away), gauge the strength of any shields they were using and select the appropriate weapons to use against them on the basis of that. Once the exercises the officers and men were working through had proven their ability to use the gear and information they were given, they were rotated back to the operational squads.

* * *

Most of the group went to get the girls settled in when they went back to Hogwarts, along with Hogwarts' new Potions Mistress and Head of House for Slytherin, Narcissa Black. Needless to say, Narcissa's addition to the staff wasn't received at all well by her son, who was now Draco Bulstrode, because he had been taken in by Millicent Bulstrode's family and made the heir to carry on the name. Draco wasn't the only one who had gained a new name though, Hannah had become Hannah Brown first because Lavender had convinced her father to take her friend in right after the trials. Ernie had become Ernie Finch-Fletchley when he was taken in by Justin's family (while it was a big fall for the son of what was one of the more powerful Noble and Ancient pureblood families to be taken in by a muggle family, no noble pureblood family would touch him after he became a No-Name), and Pansy became Pansy Montague when she was taken in by Graham Montague's family.

What they suspected, but couldn't confirm at first, was that the Bulstrodes and Montagues had been under orders from Voldemort to take Draco and Pansy in, because he had plans for them. Justin had gotten his father to adopt Ernie in hope of using his 'brother's pureblood ancestry and Noble and Ancient House status to elevate his own status in the Magical world, not realising that after Harry had wiped out the Macmillan family name, Ernie had absolutely zero value in the pureblood world.

Hogwarts and the staff were keeping an eye on the ex-No-Names, as they expected them to be up to something, and as time went by, they saw an unsavoury group forming, Draco, Pansy, Ernie and Hannah were often together as expected, but Millicent joined them, as did Graham, Lavender, Justin, Theo Nott, Greg Goyle, Vincent Crab, Cassius Warrington and Ron Fudge. The fact that, with the exception of Hannah, Ernie, Lavender, Justin and Ron Fudge, everyone in the group were either from known Death Eater or suspected Voldemort supporter families didn't bode well for their intentions. Not being able to be certain that there weren't any others who were doing a better job of covering up their affiliations was also a big worry.

Aside from the Junior Death Eaters, as they called them, everyone was happy to have Professor Black as the Potions Mistress and Head of House for Slytherin. Professor Sprout tried to talk to Hannah, Ernie and Justin about getting themselves mixed up with Draco and his group, and Moody (as the new Head of House put in for Gryffindor once Professor McGonagall had officially become the Headmistress) tried to talk to Lavender and Ron, but neither of them managed to make any headway. Narcissa knew better than to bother trying to talk to Draco, and she didn't have any luck with the others either. It seemed certain that they were on a collision course with trouble, the only question was what they were going to do.

In addition to watching the Junior Death Eaters and getting their other duties done, Harry and the others were still trying to get information out of Ankles Dumbledore to narrow down the search for the last horcrux, but the old bastard was trying to make deals to get things out of them. After everything they had seen of what he'd been doing to so many people for nearly a hundred years though, they were all in agreement that he no longer deserved any fair treatment, the only thing he _did_ deserve was a dementor's kiss, so they started forcibly ripping the memories out of his head, much like he'd done to countless people (including most of them) for nearly a hundred years. They didn't do him the _kindness_ that he usually did to his victims by obliviating him though, because his memories were the only reason to keep him alive, and they wanted the old bastard to get his just deserts. A bit of anguish and suffering would be good for his soul, especially as his anguish would only be related to the fact that his plans to manipulate everyone else had failed.

* * *

As they got closer to Christmas, Voldemort's people's activities elsewhere were backing off, but the JDEs at Hogwarts were making more of a nuisance of themselves. It was obvious that their targets were the Founders Group and Narcissa. While they were usually relatively subtle, _accidents_ in the potions lab, nasty comments in the girls' toilets etc, they were ramping up their activities, and Alice Longbottom and Sirius joined Angela, Remus, Tonks and the goblin guards on the girls' protection detail to ensure that they were always protected, even when Angela, Tonks or Remus had to go away to deal with their duties on the Wizengamot, or to handle the Aurors' or muggle anti-Death Eater force training.

In the last week before the Christmas Break, the JDEs (or at least Draco's) plans came to a head, and they were hiding in the girls' toilet, waiting to attack the girls. While the girls (and especially Tonks) were all much better than their attackers, the fact that they were outnumbered by more than two to one and the JDEs were all disillusioned made for a very dangerous situation. The fact that Gabi was one of the girls who'd gone to the toilet meant Harry knew about it straight away and popped in to help with the fight (Fleur had the twins to look after and Hermione was nearly six months' pregnant, so they couldn't jump into the fight), so the JDEs were subdued quickly. They avoided killing them, no matter how sorely they were tempted to.

Madam Bones brought a team in and questioned all of the Junior Death Eaters under Veritaserum, so there was no question of their intent or actions. It was a given that they were all expelled, but it went wider than that. Others in the Montague, Bulstrode, Warrington, Nott, Crab, Goyle and Brown families had also been involved in the plot, so they went all on trial for attempted murder, and attempting to end the lines of the Most Noble and Most Ancient Houses of Ravenclaw and Slytherin, and the Noble house of Greengrass.

The heads and key members of the families except for Justin's father were all questioned under Veritaserum in the trial (including Theo Nott, Vincent Crab and Greg Goyle, because they'd been made the heads of their families when their fathers went through the veil), and the recordings of the questioning of Ron and Justin's fathers and the rest of the JDEs were played as well. It was a sad state of affairs when the fact that Cornelius Fudge couldn't be bothered having anything to do with his son was the very thing that saved him from the fate of the other families. While the Potter Alliance could have easily pushed the vote through on their own, the others in the Wizengamot wanted to be seen to be on the 'right' side, so the 'guilty' vote was pretty much unanimous, and many others voted _before_ Angela cast the votes of the Potter Alliance.

* * *

The sentencing wasn't agreed to as readily though, and Angela had to use their votes to push it through because most of the Wizengamot was aghast at what they were planning to do to them. Hermione had discovered something in Salazar Slytherin's private library that they at first thought was too terrible to use, but the more they thought about it, the more they came around to the idea that it could well be both the ultimate deterrent, and the way help them win against Voldemort. What she had found was a ritual to take a witch or wizard's magic and transfer it to another witch or wizard. The 'light' of course decried this as dark magic, the 'dark' just wished that it was them who had found it.

The idea of losing one's magic was a nightmare that haunted many witches and wizards, but that paled into insignificance at the thought of another witch or wizard _taking_ it! Even if the rest of the Wizengamot had voted against it (which they didn't), there was no way of stopping it going through, and they took the magic of the JDEs, the heads of the Bulstrode, Montague, Warrington and Brown families and another dozen members of the seven families.

There was no argument when they claimed all of the titles, holdings and fortunes of the Houses of Bulstrode, Montague, Warrington, Nott, Crab, Goyle and Brown by right of conquest, to go to the Houses of Ravenclaw, Slytherin and Weasley, and Daphne in her own right (they weren't going to give her and Astoria's father any chance to gain anything from this, so she held the titles that they took from the Noble and Ancient House of Bulstrode in her own right with Angela as her Regent until she took over as the Head of the Noble House of Greengrass, at which time Greengrass would be elevated to a Noble and Ancient House). The Wizengamot also agreed to the expected motion to totally eradicate all of the one Noble and Ancient, three Noble and three Minor Houses. This vacated five seats in the Wizengamot (four 'dark' and one 'light'), and added another twenty six votes to the Potter Alliance. They claimed four of the vacated seats for Daphne as Countess Greengrass, Arthur as Baron Weasley, Narcissa as Baroness Black and Andromeda as Baroness Tonks in their own right, leaving the traditional and progressive families to squabble over the last one like a flock of hungry seagulls.

The sixteen adults all died after they lost all their magic, and the Junior Death Eaters and the Finch-Fletchley family had their memories altered to remove any knowledge of the magical world. The Finch-Fletchleys took in Ernie, Hannah and Lavender, while the other nine had adjustments made to improve their behaviour and were placed with foster families in the muggle world.

The magic that had been taken from the convicted was shared through the group, at least doubling the capacity of their magical cores for most of them. It took a while for them to get used to holding and handling that extra power, but they were getting it under control again.

Luckily, the Death Eater rampages that they'd expected to follow the JDEs making their move didn't happen. This seemed to indicate that either Draco had gotten impatient and made his move without Voldemort's approval (this prospect was the reason they were keeping an eye on the foster family he was with, even though they'd changed his name, memories and personality), or Voldemort had cancelled his other plans when the JDEs failed so badly. They had 'leaked' the fact that the JDEs and other key members of their families had had all of their magic taken, and all of their memories of the magical world as well if they lived, so they were hoping that it would be unlikely that Voldemort would bother looking for any members of the JDEs in the muggle world to extract retribution from them.

* * *

Hermione could read what Harry was thinking about Dumbledore. Harry was thinking about taking his magic once they'd found the last horcrux and taken what Voldemort related memories they could from him. That worried her, because whether or not Harry was right about how much of Dumbledore's power had come from the Elder Wand, the old bastard was still a very powerful wizard, so absorbing his magic would put a terrible strain on her husband's magical core. She could see his point, as with that boost he should have little trouble overpowering Voldemort when their final confrontation came, but she couldn't stop thinking about what could go wrong. She didn't care about the fact that taking Dumbledore's magic would almost certainly kill him, the memories they'd seen of all the destroyed lives and atrocities that he'd been responsible for over the last century in the name of his greater good meant that he deserved to die a hundred times, if not a thousand, she was only worried about Harry.

The memories they took from Dumbledore did give them a useful lead on the last horcrux, it was in a cave down by the coast. The Gringotts curse breakers got them past all of the traps and wards into the cave, and a detection spell showed evidence of Voldemort's magic on a rock poking out of the middle of the large pool of water that took up most of the cave. There was a dingy of sorts there to carry people out to the rock, but none of them felt like trusting something that rickety to get them there, let alone back. They were also getting a very bad feeling from the pool, a sense that there were dangers hidden under the water.

Luckily, they didn't need to rely on the boat to get they to the rock, because even though there were active anti-apparition wards in the cave, these didn't stop them popping out to the rock using elf or goblin magic. All that was on the rock was a large stone bowl filled with a liquid. Something about that liquid prevented the locket that they could see in the bottom of the bowl being summoned and when they cast detection spells over the liquid, they showed that it contained deadly poisons and other elements that dissuaded them from reaching into the liquid to get the locket.

Thinking that it should be a simple matter to bucket the liquid out of the bowl, they conjured a bucket, but whatever they took out was magically replaced, so it had regained its level by the time the bucket could be dipped in again, the same thing happened when they conjured extra buckets and tried to use them. The longer they were out there on that rock, the more uneasy they were feeling, because the sense of something _wrong_ that was coming from the water was overwhelming.

After about ten minutes of this, Harry brusquely told everyone to stand back and took out the Elder Wand, blasting away the sides of the bowl so that the liquid drained away and one of the goblins managed to grab the locket. Just as he did that though, they found out what was under the water, because inferi started clambering up onto the rock from all sides.

Harry started blasting them off the rock, then realised that that wouldn't actually stop the things, they could come back, and he changed to spraying _"_ ** _ **Perdere Tenebris!**_** ** _"_** spells around. Just as it did with the dementor, the spell made the inferi burn up. The smell was just as bad as the dementor, but at least they didn't make the same soul rending screams. The inferi took a little longer to burn, because they were waterlogged, but they froze where they were like the dementor had when they were hit with the spell and that stopped the ones behind them coming forward. When he had created a ring of burning inferi around the rock, they all popped back to the shore and bolted out of the cave, sealing the entrance and then burying it under umpteen tons of rock when they did so.

* * *

With the cave properly sealed, they popped straight back to Gringotts to destroy the horcrux, but it wasn't a horcrux! It wasn't even Slytherin's locket like it was supposed to be, it was just a gold locket that had been transfigured to look like Slytherin's. All that was inside this locket was a note addressed to Voldemort from someone who'd signed it as R.A.B. This note said that R.A.B. had discovered Voldemort's secret and stolen the real horcrux. Whoever it was said that he expected to be dead by the time the switch was found, but he was going to destroy the real horcrux. His final words were that he was prepared to face death in an attempt to make Voldemort mortal for his final confrontation.

Even the goblins backed away from Harry's rage at finding that after what they'd gone through in that cave to get that last fucking horcrux, dealing with that poisonous magic repelling liquid and almost being taken by those inferi, it was all for nothing because it wasn't the fucking horcrux! There was no chance that some turncoat Death Eater could manage to destroy a horcrux, so the last fucking horcrux still existed out there somewhere, but now they had no chance of finding it! Voldemort only needed one of those things to cheat death, so their last chance to finish the bastard forever was gone!

When he stormed into Potter Manor in a rage, someone called the ones at Hogwarts. Hermione and Fleur could get enough from inside his head to understand that what they'd gotten from the last site wasn't the horcrux, and that the real horcrux had disappeared, but he was raging too much to get anything else out of him.

When Sirius arrived and asked him what had happened, Harry threw the note at him, snarling that the horcrux was gone and was about to leave when Sirius read the note and fell to his knees in tears, muttering to himself. "Regulus? You struck out against him? If I'd known, if our damned mother hadn't had me thrown out of the house and banished me from the family, I could have helped you, I could have saved you!"

Harry slowly turned back to stare at him. "Sirius?… What are you talking about?…..."

Sirius looked up at him, tears still streaming down his face. "My little brother, Regulus….." He could see that this was making no sense to Harry. "My brother the Death Eater… His name was Regulus Arcturus Black….." He waved the parchment at Harry. "This is his handwriting….. R.A.B was my brother, Regulus!"

Harry fell to his knees in front of Sirius and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Do you think he could have destroyed the horcrux?" Could he dare dream that their last hope wasn't lost after all?

Sirius shook his head. "I don't know, but I _do_ know who is likely to!"

Harry was almost screaming at him now. "WHO? This isn't any time to play your games Sirius!"

"The Black family's crazy house elf, Kreacher, he worshipped Regulus, if anyone knows anything about what Regulus did it will be Kreacher."

"Do you know where we can find him?"

"There's only one place he can be, Black House at Twelve Grimmauld Place, the Black family's London Townhouse."

"Well…..." Harry stopped himself. "I'm... I'm sorry Sirius, I'm being so insensitive….. It's just, I thought we'd lost our last chance at stopping Voldemort for good and then you tell me that the one who stole the horcrux was your brother so we might have another chance and…." He cut himself off again in embarrassment.

Sirius shook his head. "No, you're right, this damned thing could be the one thing that determines whether we win or lose this war….. Just give me a chance to wash my face and we'll go over there…. I should warn you though, Kreacher is quite mad, he's been locked up in that house with nothing but my mother's portrait for the last ten years and ten years alone with that foul harridan _before_ she died would been enough to drive anyone crazy, but she seems to have gotten worse since she died!"

With that, he headed off to the bathroom.

Harry looked at Reamus and Reamus shook his head. "He isn't joking, both Kreacher and his mother's portrait are completely insane. That's why he doesn't go there, we went once when he was cleared to get some things but it wasn't more than fifteen minutes before we had to leave before we used an unforgivable on Kreacher or the portrait, or both."


	25. The Last Horcrux

**OK, that looks like a big ' _No!_ ' to Origin, as hardly anyone's looked at it. ;^)**

 **Should have known I guess, tried a Steampunk spin-off of the contemporary spy/sci-fi series I originally fanfics wrote for for a while and while it had some enthusiastic followers, it never got more then half the views my other stories did. It still did one hell of a lot better than what was supposed to be the start of Origin though, and it was the basis for my first steampunk novel series out in the 'real' world, I don't really see medieval magic stories working there.**

 **Might be time to head back to the twenty first century anyway, they seem to be making comments about unfinished stories in that space, though Donald has screwed up at least one of them now. ;^)**

 **NB: I realised that I'd left holes in the changes to the underpinnings of Magical Britain, so I** **went back and** **made a small amendment, in that the Hufflepuff title and holdings for the County of Leinster and others was reinstated and bequeathed to Sirius, like the Peverell titles and holdings were reinstated and bequeathed to Harry, so Sirius is now the Duke of** **Gwynned** **and** **Leinster** ** **and the titles and holdings for the original Most Ancient Houses are all under the control of the Potter Alliance.**** ** **Basically, between the seven Duchies of Harry, Sirius and Luna, they have coverage of nearly all of Britain and over a quarter of Ireland, and the counties between those of the group fill in the rest of the holes.****

 **Usual disclaimers, no rights to any characters portrayed and this is neither the real world nor a Disney Princess tale.**

Black House had become the family seat of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black after Black Manor, the country seat of the family, was destroyed in the fighting towards the end of the second Goblin Rebellion of the eighteenth century. The House of Black was getting more heavily embroiled in political chicanery in the last decades of the eighteenth century, so the current Lord Black at the time decided that it would be advantageous to base himself in Black House in London rather than put divert the family fortunes into rebuilding Black Manor and moving back to Wales. None of the succeeding Lord Blacks had seen any great benefit in overturning this decision, so the Blacks had become entrenched in Black House from then on.

Sirius side-along apparated Harry into Black House because it was under a fidelius charm, and the screeching from the magical portrait hanging in the foyer that greeted them the moment they arrived about the disgrace and affront of having blood traitors and filthy half bloods in her house put paid to any doubts that Harry may have had about whether Sirius and Remus had been exaggerating about what it was like quick smart. Sirius looked at the portrait with loathing before turning to Harry with a wry grin. "Harry, meet my dear old Mum, Walburga Black, hopelessly psychotic in life and twice as bad in death!"

That just set his mother's portrait off again, of course, and the non-stop screeching almost masked the approach of another. Harry however felt the magic of the Black family elf, Kreacher, approaching and quickly spun around to face him. The way that the elf's hand was extended towards Sirius told enough of a story for Harry to blast him back up the stairs with a banishing spell. That brought silence down over the foyer, but only briefly.

Walburga's portrait started screeching again, but this time it was directed at the stupid elf for failing to deal with her traitor of a son as he'd been ordered to. Harry realised then that the portrait had been trying to hold their attention to allow the elf to sneak up behind them and decided to do something about the situation. He didn't discuss this with Sirius, he just cast a non-verbal, wand-less 'immobulus' charm at the elf, quickly followed by a similar summoning charm. Once the elf was standing in front of him facing the portrait, unable to move (or speak as he'd also cast a 'silencio' spell over it as well), he told Sirius to get away from his mother's portrait before he started speaking to it.

"You are aware, Lady Black, that Sirius has been magically accepted as both Lord Black and the Head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, and that he has in fact rightfully been the Head of the House of Black ever since his grandfather, Lord Arcturus Black, died?"

"Of course! Druella's girl Bellatrix informed me of that when she came seeking assistance. It's nothing but a disgrace! Him, a traitor to the House of Black being made the Head of the House and Lord Black!"

Harry snorted. "Didn't Bellatrix tell you that she wasn't a Black any more? The Head of the House of Black banished her from the Black family and ordered the dissolution of her marriage, so she has no name! He did the same for Narcissa but he accepted her formally back into the family, just as he did Andromeda and Nymphadora…..Oh, and by the way, he isn't Lord Black any more…." He paused long enough for the portrait to begin to look delighted before he continued. "Sirius has now been recognised and elevated to Duke Black by Her Royal Highness, Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. "

When she started screeching that the filthy muggle queen meant nothing in their world, he cut her off. "I thought the Blacks were supposed to be properly educated in the rules of our world! We retain control of Magical Britain _purely_ at the forbearance of and by the rule of the titles and holdings bestowed upon us by the King or Queen of Britain! The King or Queen can take all of that that away from us at any time if we do not comply with the terms of the Charter under which our world was created. What that means, you stupid hag, is that Her Majesty the Queen is quite capable of abolishing Magical Britain with one command if she so chooses!" He paused to collect himself.

"That is neither here nor there in the current matter however, you have just confessed to knowingly ordering a house elf who is bonded to the House of Black to _murder_ the current acknowledged Head of the House of Black! Did your psychotic harpy of a niece also happen to tell you who the current acknowledged Heir to the House of Black is?"

The portrait spat out. " _Yes_! _You,_ _you filthy half blood_! Kreacher was supposed to remove the blot of _both_ of you from the house of Black! Useless elf couldn't even do that right!"

"So you chose to try to wipe out the House of Black rather than allow the one who was properly next in line to succeed from Lord Arcturus Black to take his rightful place, and for him as the rightful Head of the Most Noble and Most Ancient House of Black to officially designate his own heir?"

"Neither of you could ever be fit to lead a proper pureblood house like the House of Black! You had to be eradicated before you could taint the Noble House of Black!"

Harry cut her off. "Portrait of Walburga Black! You have confessed to being guilty of ordering a Bonded House Elf of the Most Noble and Most Ancient House of Black to eradicate the Most Noble and Most Ancient Houses of Black, Potter and Gryffindor, the Most Noble and Most Ancient line of Peverell and the French Ancient and Noble House of Flamel by murdering the acknowledged Head of the House of Black and his acknowledged heir. If you were living you would almost certainly be sent through the veil of death for your crimes, just as your niece Bellatrix was, but as you are no longer living, I will have to make do with ensuring that you cannot harm any of our houses with your insanity ever again!"

With that, he began to summon veela fireballs. Walburga's portrait started ridiculing him, secure in the knowledge that if her son and his werewolf cohort hadn't been able to do anything to her portrait, there was no way that a mere boy like _this_ could! She very quickly changed her tune though when the first veela fireball hit the portrait and it began to burn like a focussed ball of fiendfyre. She went from scoffing, to screeching, to pleading in a matter of seconds but Harry just lobbed another fireball at her, and then another. Harry didn't vanish the fire until the portrait and its frame were completely gone and a hole had been burnt right through the wall where it had been hanging.

* * *

When the portrait was gone, Harry kept Kreacher frozen there in place, facing the hole where the portrait had been, as he walked around to face him. He cancelled the 'silencio' before he addressed him. "Kreacher, Bonded House Elf of the Most Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. Did you hear Duke Black's late mother's portrait acknowledging that Duke Sirius Orion Black is currently the rightful Head of the Most Noble and Most Ancient House of Black?"

Kreacher just stared at the hole burnt through the wall with tears in his eyes. "Mistress…."

"You have no mistress! Any claim that Walburga Black may have had to your loyalty as the mistress of this house died with her ten years ago! For that matter, she should have been banished from the Black family for trying to withhold the titles of the Head of the House of Black and Lord Black from Sirius as the rightful heir after the previous Lord Black died. Sirius's grandfather, Lord Arcturus Black, died before she did and the house magic would have been trying to bestow the titles on Sirius as its new master back then. Again! Did you hear the confirmation that Duke Sirius Black is now the rightful Head of the House of Black?"

Kreacher muttered "Yes."

"Did you also hear that I, Duke Henry James Potter-Gryffindor am now the acknowledged Heir to the House of Black?"

Kreacher muttered "Yes." again.

"Yes _**What?**_ "

"Yes…... Master." came out grudgingly but audible.

"Were you aware that you were attacking the rightful head of the House of Black and his heir?"

"Not exactly….Master."

"Explain!"

Kreacher looked up at the hole in the wall again. "Mistress…..."

" _ **You have no Mistress!**_ Explain!"

"The Master's mother told me to get rid of the traitor son and the filthy half blood if they ever came to Black House."

"That does not explain your comment of 'not exactly'. Explain!"

"Miss Bella was talking to Mistress about the son being made Head of the House and making the filthy half blood his heir."

"So you _knew_ that you were trying to kill your rightful master and his heir!"

"No master, they never used your names…."

Sirius swore and started to lift his wand, but Harry grabbed his hand.

"Kreacher. Do you now acknowledge Duke Sirius Black as your rightful master and me as his rightful heir?"

"Yes, master."

"And you understand that attempting to harm your rightful master or his heir in any way will make you liable for the most horrible punishments that we can find or create for you?"

"Yes, master."

"So will you now obey Duke Sirius Black in all things and _never_ attempt to harm him in _any_ way?"

"Yes, master."

* * *

Harry waved to Sirius to hand it over to him then and Sirius took up the baton.

"Kreacher, from this moment, you will never refer to any member of the Black family or any guest of this house as traitor, blood traitor, half blood or Mudblood, or use any derogatory references such as dirty, filthy or anything of the like about them. You will refer to them by a respectful and appropriate name and title. Do you understand?"

"Yes Master."

"Alright, how will you address Harry from now on?"

"Master Harry, Master."

"What about Duchess Potter?"

"I do not know who that is Master."

"Duchess Potter is Hermione, Harry's muggleborn wife."

Kreacher hesitated, then forced out. "Mistress Hermione, Master."

"Good, what about Remus?"

"Mister Remus, Master."

"What about male or female guests who's names you don't know?"

After a moment, Kreacher said. "Mister or Miss, Master?"

"Very good, though it should be 'Missus' if the female guest is older and appears to be married."

Sirius glanced at Harry with an evil grin before turning back to Kreacher. "What about Harry's other wives? Ginny, the Duchess Gryffindor, Astoria, Lady Black and Gabrielle, the Lady Flamel?"

Kreacher hesitated again, but this time it was because he was looking confused. "Mistress Ginny, Mistress Astoria and Mistress Gabrielle Master?"

"Very good, now what about Harry's other partners, Fleur, Daphne, Luna and Padma?"

"Miss Fleur, Miss Daphne, Miss Luna and Miss Padma Master?"

"Very good Kreacher, if you keep this up I will allow you to continue serving the House of Black and won't have you killed painfully. Now, do you recognise this?" He held up the fake Slytherin locket.

Kreacher's eyes lit up at first. "Master Rugulus's locket….. No, that is the one that Master Regulus left on that rock in the lake…." Then he started crying. "I failed Master Regulus Master, he ordered me to destroy the other locket, but I couldn't. He ordered me to take it and go when those things were coming and to make sure that it was destroyed so that Miss Bella's Lord could never get it, but nothing I did could destroy it..."

Harry knelt down in front of him to look him in the eye. "Kreacher, do you know where the other locket is now?"

"Yes Master Harry, it is in Kreacher's cupboard." He was so distraught about failing Regulus that he missed the expression that crossed over Harry's face when he mentioned his cupboard because even seven years later, any reference like that brought back memories of the cupboard he'd been locked up in and the abuse he'd suffered at the hands of his _loving_ relatives. Harry controlled his expression and asked. "Can you bring the other locket to us please Kreacher?"

Kreacher nodded, saying. "Yes Master Harry" and was gone, popping back after a brief delay with something that _looked_ just like the one in Sirius's hand, but _felt_ totally evil. There was no question that they'd located the last horcrux! Harry held out a dark objects container that they'd brought with them and had Kreacher place the locket in the container. As soon as he'd sealed the container, the room felt more wholesome, and Harry wondered whether this thing might have been at least partly responsible for making Kreacher the way he was, especially if he'd been sleeping with that foul thing in his…. cupboard all these years.

Harry wanted to just take the foul object and pop straight off to Gringotts to have the soul fragment destroyed, but he stopped for a moment to promise to Kreacher that they would ensure that Bella's Lord couldn't ever use it.

Kreacher's face and voice were full of wonder and gratitude as he hesitantly asked. "You will fulfil Kreacher's duty to Master Regulus for him?"

Harry started to nod, but saw Kreacher's eyes shining as he looked at the fake Slytherin locket hanging from Sirius's fist and remembered what Sirius had said about how Kreacher worshipped Regulus, so he quickly held out his hand and asked Sirius for the locket.

When Sirius handed it over. He pressed it into Kreacher's hands, saying. "Yes, we will ensure that what is in that locket is destroyed. And I think Regulus would want you to have this locket to remember him by Kreacher."

The normally dour, if not sour, elf was overcome with emotion at that and he dropped to his knees in tears.

Even Sirius, who'd hated the elf all his life because of the way his mother had made Kreacher act towards him, was moved by this, and awkwardly came forward to put his hand on Kreacher's head, speaking softly.

"The House of Black has changed forever Kreacher, and I think it's time Black House changed too. I want you to start cleaning up this house for me. For a start take down all the family portraits and magical paintings, as well as the family tapestry, and put them down in the basement, along with those damned elf heads. Then I want you to collect every single dark object in the house and put them in the basement as well. When we have the time I'll go through them and decide what to keep, but I don't want them in the house. I'll get the goblins to come in to ward the basement so that the dark objects down there are separated from the rest of the house, but I need you to move them all down there for me, can you do that Kreacher?"

Kreacher's whole attitude and dispositon had changed with Harry's promise to complete his duty to Regulus for him. "Yes Master, Kreacher will move all the nasty objects down to the basement."

"Good, and when that's done, we'll see about making the house a bit brighter and cheerier, then maybe we can get some life back into this house! Or rather get some life into it, I cannot remember a time where this was a place for living."

* * *

With that, they left Kreacher to it and popped off to Gringotts. Harry's (and to a lesser degree Sirius's) status in the Goblin Nation was such that as soon as they were recognised, they had no trouble as the goblins had a standing order to assist Harry in anything he requested. The specialists were examining the locket when Gringott hurried in (the Head Goblin was actually named Gringott the Fourteenth, and Harry had been made one of very few who were allowed to address him by his familiar name in private before he started at Hogwarts as Gringott found the extraordinary human child delightful) excitedly asking. "You've found it? You've got the last horcrux?"

Harry grinned at him and nodded. "It has actually been hidden in the Black family townhouse since Sirius's brother Regulus stole it from Voldemort, and as long as your team were right about how many of those foul things were made, yes! If they are correct, as soon as this soul fragment is destroyed, Voldemort will be once again mortal and we can destroy him once and for all. The war will be over, forever!"

The team cast the cleansing spells over the locket and confirmed that no dark magic or presence remained. They also measured the amount of magic, or soul, that had been released. On the basis of their measurements, they estimated that this had probably been the third horcrux created. On the basis of Harry's memories from the Chamber of Secrets of the reaction when Harry 'cleansed' the diary and what Riddle had said, Riddle's diary was probably the first horcrux. From their measurements when the soul fragment was destroyed and the records of when Riddle's father and his family had been murdered, the Gaunt (or rather, Peverell, actually) ring had almost certainly been the second. The emissions measured as the soul fragments were released and Auror reports regarding their previous owner's death appeared to place Slytherin's locket as the third, with the Hufflepuff cup as the fourth. They'd had to use the memories of those who had been there when they found Ravenclaw's diadem and destroyed the soul fragment to make a prediction as to where it came in the order that they were made, but after reviewing all of them and making a projection from what the Grey Lady told them about Riddle coming to her to ask about the diadem, they were fairly certain it had been the fifth horcrux made.

There was also some argument over which was the sixth and which was the last horcrux because some of the team argued that no snake could have lived longer than Harry, even when it was pointed out that Nagini was obviously Voldemort's familiar and well steeped in magical enhancements. Quite aside from the 'a snake can't live that long' argument though, the fact that the measurements taken at the removal of the soul fragment that was trapped in Harry's scar showed something notably less than Harry's memories from the graveyard when he cut off Nagini's head and then cast the cleansing spell as the soul fragment that escaped did seemed to indicate that the horcrux in Nagini had been created before the Horcrux in his scar.

Whichever order the first and second, third and fourth and sixth and last horcruxes had been made though, going by the orderly reduction in magical energy released as each soul fragment was destroyed, they were fairly certain that they had now located and destroyed all of Voldemort's planned horcruxes, and the accidental one in Harry's scar as well. They were all excited about that, because it hopefully meant that the next time Harry (or whoever) killed Voldemort, the bastard should _stay_ dead!

* * *

Through all of this, they'd been forcibly ripping any memories that had anything at all to do with Voldemort out of Dumbledore's head, and these had tapered off to the point where they appeared to have them all. Knowing what Harry had in mind, Hermione called for a family discussion, hoping that between them they might be able to talk him out of his incredibly dangerous decision to take Dumbledore's magic into him.

That discussion didn't quite go as she planned though, because Fleur pointed out that the bond that Harry, Hermione, Gabi and herself shared should be able to act as a safety valve, letting some of the magic bleed over into them if it was too much for Harry to contain, like it had with the bursts of magic released when both she and Gabi had bonded with Harry and her. While the logic of Fleur's argument eased Hermione's fears about what might happen to Harry, it raised another concern, because now she was worried about what it might do to her baby if magic was channelled into her while she was pregnant. That was a valid enough concern for Harry to agree to hold off with the ritual until after their son was born, especially as she had less than two months to go.

The fact that Dumbledore got to keep his magic for another month or two didn't mean that he got a free ride though, they were still taking turns ripping memories out of his head every day, looking for whatever might be useful. None of them had any qualms about doing this, as no punishment they could inflict on the old bastard could ever balance out the nearly hundred years of manipulation, abuse, theft and sending anyone he felt like to be tortured or killed to serve his damned _greater good_.

The ones who worked him the hardest were Amelia, Angela, Alistor, Frank, Alice, Sirius and Kingsley. They were the ones who had been Aurors the longest and therefore had seen the most effects of atrocities inflicted on people. Most of them had more nightmares than Harry because of what they'd seen, but now it was worse, because now they had to rethink anything and everything that they'd ever done at the direction of the 'leader of the light', given that they now knew that he was at least as much of an amoral monster as any others that they'd ever faced.

With that knowledge, they were now wondering whether they had killed, maimed or tortured innocent people, just because they had gotten in the way of some plan that Dumbledore had, or he decided that their death or suffering would serve him in some way. That was why they were working him so hard. They were trying to extract useful information from him, to be sure, but they were also looking for evidence that their actions as part of the DMLE at his direction had not just been to satisfy some terrible whim of Albus Fukn Dumbledore.

* * *

The next time Sirius went back to Black House, he was shocked enough to apparate straight back to grab Harry before they popped into Gringotts to get a team of dark object specialists and returned to Black House. As soon as they arrived, Harry understood Sirius's reaction, as the oppressive feeling that had dominated the house before was gone, now it felt light and airy, even hopeful somehow. They had to laugh, as Kreacher had obviously taken Sirius's instruction to heart. Quite aside from every picture being taken from the walls, at first glance it appeared that he'd stripped most things from the rooms as well.

When they looked more carefully, it was only roughly half of the items in the house that were now missing, but he'd apparently removed anything that had the slightest dark taint to it. Sirius wasn't complaining, this house that he grew up in had never felt this wholesome or free, but he shuddered to think what it would be like down in the basement now with all of those dark objects concentrated in one space. None of them were surprised when the Gringotts team came up blank when they swept the house for any remaining dark objects, so they proceeded to the basement to process what was down there.

As expected, the atmosphere in the basement was hard to endure, as not only were all of the dark objects from the house concentrated in one area, but their effect was contained in there by the additional wards that Sirius had had applied by the goblins. It was quickly decided that everything should be transported to a warded Gringotts cavern to be sorted out and either cleansed or destroyed.

Given that the cleansing, and some methods of destruction were to be chargeable services, Sirius had to decide what was to be cleansed and what was to be destroyed. Because of the size of this task, he enlisted the help of Andi, Cissi, Tonks, Harry, Remus and Angela to get this done. They were aided in this by the goblins casting cleaning spells over all the items as they were sorting them. The obvious priority were the darkest objects, as the goblins didn't want them in their domain. Some of these had been so dark that the goblins hadn't waited for Sirius's ruling, they were immediately cleansed if they were of valuable, or destroyed if they weren't.

Sirius, Andi and Cissi were seeing many of the Black heirlooms in a whole new light, now that they were properly cleaned and in a brighter setting than they'd been used to in Black House. Many of them turned out to be priceless antiques, which made the decision to cleanse rather than destroy an easy one. A good many of the lesser dark objects had actually been tainted through proximity to darker objects sitting beside or inside them, which made the cleansing a simpler and cheaper prospect, and quickly reduced the piles of objects that they were working through.

After a week of them all working through the objects when they had the time, they were largely down to the magical paintings and portraits and the family tapestry. Sirius's first reaction was just to burn the lot of them, but they talked him into dealing with them on a case by case basis. Andromeda, Narcissa, Tonks and Harry pointing out that by doing so, he would be throwing away a large part of the Black family heritage without any care for his responsibilities to the House that he was the head of was instrumental in driving the point home. As the ones with the best knowledge of Black family history, Sirius, Andromeda and Narcissa agreed that they never wanted to hear what more than a handful of the Black portraits from the last hundred years would have to say, so it didn't take them long to work through the portraits from that period.

The further they went back, the more magical portraits they decided to keep, and there was no question of getting rid of the earliest ones from medieval times. The first Black portrait was Llywelyn Du (who had been the Ealdorman of Powrys and Head of the Black Family when Hogwarts was founded), because the process to create magical portraits was discovered at Hogwarts in the early rush of discoveries there. This was how they also had the portraits of Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff and Harry's ancestor Aelfred Allerdale, the Ealdorman of Cumbria and Head of the Family at that time.

In the end, they had about a quarter of the Black magical family portraits and magical paintings with Black family members in them destroyed. The joy on Sirius's face as the tapestry and then the paintings were fed, screaming, arguing and pleading, into the incinerator was a little disturbing, but the fact that his cousins looked almost as happy said quite a bit about the nature of many of the Black family over the last century at least.

Once it had been cleaned and cleansed, most of the furniture was returned to Black House, being stored in the basement with the paintings that had been kept. After that, it was fairly quick work to go through the rest of the dark objects that had been collected. As with the goblins' previous practice, if the items were valuable (or a Black family member had a reason to keep it) they were generally cleansed, otherwise they were destroyed. Sirius wrapped up his contract with Gringotts by getting them to go through Black House and cast the same cleaning spells over the rest of the furniture etc, also having a team go through room by room to repaint and re-carpet and settled up. It hadn't been a cheap exercise, coming to over 150,000 galleons with the revised and strengthened wards and fidelis charm that the goblins had applied. Sirius was happy with it though because once the paintings and furniture were back it was like a new place.

With less strength in the ley lines through London to infuse power into the wards, they weren't as strong as they were at Potter Manor, but Gringotts was the only location in London that might have stronger wards than Black House, so the family now had three secure locations. Hogwarts wasn't quite as locked down as the other sites, but the Founders Tower was (it was the most secure part of Hogwarts). Potter Manor was the most secure magical location in the British Isles, and Black House was as safe as it got in London. No-one in the extended family ever stayed anywhere but one of these safe locations in Britain.

* * *

The answer to the question of how to get Her Majesty's Special Task Force (or the Eat Death force as it was generally known) to where they were needed came out of Russia, strangely enough. When the Soviet Union was disbanded at the end of ninety one, most of the Soviet Navy became the Russian Navy, but Russia was so broke that they mothballed many of the ships. Someone on the task force from the Royal Marines heard through the grapevine that the Russians were decommissioning the helicopter carrier, Moskva, and commented that something like that would have the capacity to move their men and helicopters to wherever they were needed. The others could see merit in the idea, so Harry, Remus, Sirius, the twins and a few other like minded witches and wizards popped over to St Petersburg with some non-magical engineers to have a good look at the Moskva.

It didn't take long for them to decide that it wouldn't be too hard to make her into what they wanted and do a deal to acquire her cheaply. They could see the twins' minds working overtime and when they explained their idea, the others couldn't decide whether they were insane, or insanely brilliant. Their first idea was to come up with new fiendfyre fired boilers to feed the steam turbines, giving her better speed and virtually unlimited range, and reducing the crew requirements to boot. The lower weight and placement of the steam plant and reducing the height and weight of the superstructure meant that she wouldn't be thrown about in heavy seas as much as she'd been with the previous configuration, and they also wanted to enclose the lower deck at the stern to make her more sea worthy, so all in all, she would be a much better ship than she'd been when the Russian Navy had her. On top of that, their calculations were saying that with enough powerful muggleborn witches and wizards working together, they could generate port-keys to move the entire ship to within striking distance of where attacks were happening. This was proven by them moving the ship to the River Tyne once it was out of sight of St Petersburg and regular shipping in the Baltic.

Between the non-magical engineers and the twins and their magical ilk, the conventional steam driven Moskva was converted to the magical steam driven Ynys Môn fairly quickly and she was outfitted with what was needed to make her into a mobile base for the task force. Most of the Ynys Môn's crew was made up of magical engineers, and luckily for their cause, there were plenty of talented and powerful muggleborn witches and wizards who were both available and motivated to join up due to the traditional purebloods' bigotry in Magical Britain.

The vaults of the Death Eaters funded much of the purchase, refitting and outfitting of the Ynys Môn, and many of the task force were like little school boys, excited as they were about what they had to play with now. This was probably the best equipped outfit in Her Majesty's armed forces. They had six Super Lynx, four Merlin and two Tiger helicopters, two Warrior IFVs, eight Saxon APCs and fourteen Land Rover Wolfs (all warded against magical attacks as much as possible). They also had separate portable anti tank and sniper weapons, machine guns, missile launchers, mortars etc. They had seen the memories of the last war and knew that, as well as Death Eaters, they could be facing inferi (some sort of zombie), werewolves, vampires, those dementor things, trolls, giants and even dragons ferfuksake! That was why, when they had the opportunity to get their hands on a wide array of heavier kit than they'd normally have a hope of getting, they went for everything they could!

The first time the Ynys Môn was deployed against a major Death Eater attack, the Death Eaters were decimated. The Ynys Môn was dropped into a large enough nearby river and a Merlin, two Super Lynxes and a Tiger were in the air before she'd stopped bobbing in the water. The Lynxes dropped the first response troops within a couple of hundred metres of where the Death Eaters were and seeing their mates being mowed down all around them as soon as they engaged scared the remaining Death Eaters too much to apparate out. The Merlin was right behind, dropping the main force, along with a team of wizards to cast anti apparation wards over the Death Eaters, while the Death Eaters were cowering behind what cover they could and that ensured that very few of the Death Eaters escaped.

At least one of the Death Eaters must have gotten out to cry for help though, because reinforcements turned up just as they were trying to get the others to surrender. Many of these new ones took to the air on brooms, obviously planning to curse the muggles from above. The Death Eaters jeered at the ones who had them pinned down when they saw that, but changed their tune very quickly when the guns on the Tiger and the Lynxes opened up and dropped, if not shredded, every Death Eater in the air as soon as they got above the rooftops.

The remaining brave Death Eaters promptly threw out their wands and surrendered as soon as they saw how easily and quickly everyone on a broom had been taken out. The ones surrendering were smug, sure in the knowledge that they'd get away as soon as the stupid muggles thought that they had them locked up. Their sneers gave way to fear and confusion rather quickly when they were secured with magic suppressing cuffs and all of their wands were snapped though. How did muggles get these, or even know anything about this?

That question was answered when the wizards supporting the team stepped out and _the Dukes_ (as Harry and Sirius had come to be known in Magical Britain and the task force) popped in once the shooting stopped. Starting with the worst wounded, they used the ritual to strip the Death Eaters of their magic and transfer it to the witches and wizards of the Ynys Môn. Taking their magic killed most of the Death Eaters and boosted the power of the witches and wizards of the Ynys Môn, so this was a win/win in Harry and the others' minds.

* * *

This became the standard modus operandi of the task force (and the Aurors) after this, as soon as the Death Eaters were taken down, someone from the family would come in to use the ritual to strip them of their magic and transfer it to the witches and wizards who'd opposed them. It didn't take long for Voldemort to stop sending large groups of Death Eaters on an attack (though Harry was hoping that he'd tortured at least the first few who tried to tell him how stupid what he was doing was to death as the fewer sensible or intelligent followers Voldemort had, the better it was for everyone else), but even with the smaller groups, the response practices still worked.

At least two Super Lynxes, one Merlin and one Tiger were restrained on the helicopter deck of the Ynys Môn and a Warrior, two Saxons and two Land Rover Wolfs were restrained on the hanger deck in a ready state at all times. Two platoons of troops were geared up and ready to go and enough witches and wizards to move the Ynys Môn were on duty 24/7. As soon as the word of an attack came through, two of the witches or wizards would apparate in to see what force the Death Eaters had while the crews and troops boarded the helicopters and vehicles to start running them up.

Port keys would quickly be prepared to take the Wolfs in and pin the Death Eaters down. Where the attack was small, the Saxons and perhaps the Warrior would follow if the initial force wasn't enough to deal with them. If the attack was significant, the witches and wizards would drop the Ynys Môn into the closest body of water big enough to hold her, the deck crew releasing the restraints on the helicopters as they did so to enable them to take off as soon as they arrived. They could also send the Merlin, Super Lynxes and/or Tiger directly there, but it took their pilots a bit to get used to getting control of the helicopters when they arrived in mid air the way they did.

The wards applied to the Ynys Môn normally kept her disillusioned, and most of the helicopters and vehicles were as well, so the task force's operations could be carried out with minimal need to obliviate innocent bystanders. This also saved a lot of questions about where this obviously military ship came from and who it belonged to between operations.

No matter what the scale of the attack though, the final step was always the same, bring in the Dukes or their people to perform the ritual to strip the magic from any living Death Eaters and transfer it to the task force's witches and wizards.

Some of the younger Death Eaters didn't die when they lost their magic. Where this happened, providing that they didn't need extensive medical treatment after the attack was put down to keep them alive they were obliviated, given different memories and dumped in the muggle prisons. The end result was that Voldemort's forces kept getting drained and the task force kept getting stronger as its witches and wizards had their magical power boosted with the Death Eaters'.

It didn't take much for Amelia to decide that this was the way to go, and she brought the Dukes or someone else from the family in to perform the ritual on any Death Eaters they took as well, transferring their magic to her more trusted Aurors. As with the ones the task force dealt with, most of the Death Eaters died when they lost their magic, any that didn't were obliviated, given new memories and handed over to Her Majesty's Special Task Force to bury in a prison somewhere.

The Aurors had less opportunities to take the Death Eaters' magic, because they didn't have the power of the muggle weapons to help take down the Death Eaters without killing them, so many of them managed to escape from the Aurors when they responded to the random attacks. It was usually only when the Aurors had a chance to plan the raids that they managed to have a significant win.

 **A/N: If anyone's interested about Llywelyn Du and Aelfred Allerdale, they're in Origin. ;^)**

 **NB: The Moskva (Moscow) was real, and I've used her in other stories in another world, but I always thought that she was unfairly underrated. ;^)**


	26. War

**I've made a few other minor amendments to Eat Death, making the Bulstrodes a Noble and Ancient House and Draco having been adopted and made the heir by the Bulstrodes to stop the family name from dying out. The titles, holdings and seat taken from the Bulstrodes were all given to Daphne in her own right until she took over as the Head of the House of Greengrass. Arthur was allocated a seat as Baron Weasley in his own right, seeing as Bill now had the House of Weasley seat as the Head of the House of Weasley and Narcissa and Andromeda were also bequeathed Baronies and Wizengamot seats in their own rights.**

 **Taking the additional seats for Daphne, Arthur and the Black sisters were to a) prevent the traditional purebloods grabbing them, and b) to get Narcissa and Andromeda into the Wizengamot so that they could use their extensive knowledge of noble house politics to supplement Angela's and assist her by keeping an eye on what was going on and providing advice.**

 **Also went back to check my Wizengamot vote counts and confirmed that they were too short, so I had to go back through and adjust the total votes for the Wizengamot up from 300 to 400 and clarify that it was mostly made up of at least noble houses so that it'd make more sense.**

 **Usual disclaimers, no rights to any characters portrayed and this is neither the real world nor a Disney Princess tale.**

Amelia's Aurors and the witches and wizards of Her Majesty's Special Task Force were growing stronger with the magic taken from the captured Death Eaters at around the same rate, because while the task force were capturing a dozen times more Death Eaters than the Aurors, there were over five times more witches and wizards in the Task Force, and Amelia trusted less than half of her Aurors enough to boost their magical power in this way.

What most in the wizarding world were either ignorant of or ignored was the fact that the makeup of the Hogwarts intake was usually pretty much an even split between Muggleborn, half-blood and pureblood students, but while Muggleborns and half-bloods were sometimes pushed out in the lower years, that bias swung away from the purebloods in the NEWT years as more purebloods were too lazy or stupid to do their NEWTs. However, the political control of the wizarding world traditionally being in the hands of the purebloods meant that the Muggleborns had been locked out of most decent positions, and half-bloods had a hard time of it as well, so over eighty percent of Muggleborn and almost two thirds of half-blood witches and wizards left the wizarding world and went back to the non-magical world after Hogwarts to try and make a life for themselves.

This meant that around half of Hogwarts' graduates were effectively lost to Magical Britain as soon as they finished school, and what the traditional purebloods would never admit was that the majority of the brightest and most powerful witches and wizards were among those who left. The pureblood noble families saw no problem in this, because with magic keeping many witches and wizards alive and active for twice as long as Muggles (more in some cases), there was always a shortage of decent positions in the magical world anyway, so the way they saw it was that it was only right that the Mudbloods and half-bloods should go back where they belonged.

What this meant in terms of the Task Force being put together to deal with the Death Eater attacks on Muggles and the Muggleborn's families was that they had hundreds of intelligent, knowledgeable and powerful Muggleborn and half-blood witches and wizards that they could approach to offer positions on the Task Force to when the time came, and with the assistance of Harry and the others, they did. The fact that their options in the non-magical world were limited due to the large gaps in their traditional education and the knowledge of the evil that the Task Force was fighting against meant that most of them jumped at what was offered.

This was how they had the power available to magically transport the Ynys Môn around as required, they had large teams of these witches and wizards on duty 24/7, and if the duty teams were drained from doing too much, other teams could be quickly switched in to take over. In a worst case scenario, other witches and wizards could be called in from the third of the Task Force who weren't based on the Ynys Môn.

Most of the witches and wizards on the Task Force were also given Auror training and non-magical weapons training, as they made up the magical half of the Task Force. The non-magical half of the task force was drawn from Britain's military elite, the Royal Marines, Special Air Service, Special Boat Service and the like. While the conventional military would never admit it out loud, it was accepted by many in the know that this 'Task Force' that Her Majesty had created was in fact the most capable command of the British Military.

What few in Magical Britain cared enough to notice was that the majority of the witches and wizards who were going into the expanding Auror force and excelling through their drive and ability were also Muggleborn and half-blood.

* * *

The reign of the traditional pureblood families in Magical Britain had come to an end, but many of them failed to register this because they believed the dealings of common Muggleborns and half-bloods to be beneath their notice. They were so entrenched in their beliefs that they even ignored the fact that the most powerful person in their world (both politically and magically), the one who was spearheading all of these changes to their world, was himself a half-blood. They also refused to accept that a mere teenager could be behind this tsunami of change, and so focussed on the older members of the Potter Alliance as they tried to predict which way they'd turn next, never understanding why this failed to work.

Their main focus was on Countess Lupin, the erstwhile Potter-Gryffindor (and Black) Regent and her coven of witches. Countess Lupin was now the Potter-Gryffindor Steward as Duke Potter-Gryffindor was officially an adult, but she was also the Ravenclaw-Slytherin Regent, as well as being Regent for Countess Greengrass and holding the voting proxies for most of the houses that made up the Potter Alliance, and the other houses aligned to them as well, such as the Minor House of Diggory. Under the traditional Noble House rules, this witch _should_ be the power behind the Potter Alliance. She was supported by the Dowager Countess Longbottom (who had changed from Longbottom Regent to Longbottom Steward with Earl Longbottom's miraculous recovery, as well as being the Chief Witch of the Wizengamot), Madam Bones as the Bones Regent, Baroness Black (previously Malfoy) as the Black Steward and Baroness Tonks as the Lupin Steward. This was frustrating their pureblood watchers, because no matter how closely they watched the Countess and her coven, the majority of the time their predictions as to which way the Potter Alliance would turn were proven wrong.

The major problem that came out of Her Majesty's Special Task Force's successes in dealing with Voldemort's Death Eaters' attacks was that it moved many of the old school families to rally behind Voldemort, enraged by the very idea that those filthy, inferior Muggles could kill witches and wizards. In the Wizengamot, 'light' and 'dark' no longer existed as factions, as they had now banded together as the 'Traditional' faction to push the agendas of the _proper_ pureblood families.

A further reason for this change of stance was that the traditional purebloods had now become insignificant in the Wizengamot, with the Potter Alliance (which included all five of the Most Noble and Most Ancient Houses, three of the Noble and Ancient Houses plus Daphne in her own right and two of the Noble Houses plus Arthur, Narcissa and Andromeda in their own right) controlling fourteen of the fifty seats and over half of the four hundred votes. That filthy Goblin Ambassador and Muggle Governor each controlled a seat and nine votes and always voted with the Potter Alliance. For that matter, the common Muggleborn Block's twelve seats and forty two votes, and the Progressive faction's eight seats and thirty eight votes usually voted with the Alliance too. This meant that the traditional pureblood families now only controlled fourteen of the seats and seventy of the votes in the Wizengamot, making them toothless tigers in the seat of power where they used the rule the roost up until a few short years ago.

The Magical Noble families who had ruled magical Britain with an iron fist for over half a millennium (allowing only a token handful of Minor Houses to be part of the Wizengamot to speak for the common people in later centuries) had lost control of their world. The most the traditional families could do in the Wizengamot sessions now was argue and try to obstruct the proposals of Potter Alliance and the Minister of Magic going through, and they were furious about this.

Of course the traditional purebloods would never accept the fact that they had brought this on themselves, even with the way that they'd lost twenty seven seats and around a hundred and eighty votes through the Wizengamot rulings that were made in regard to their desperate attacks on members of the houses of the Potter Alliance, rigid attitudes towards blood purity and refusal to accept the Muggle Queen's authority, not to mention supporting Voldemort (who was never a Lord, even his Muggle father had been no more than the heir to a minor family) or being outright Death Eaters.

These losses were quite separate from the titles and holdings of the Marquess of Wessex and the Earls of Leinster and Morgannwyg, which had all been recovered and reallocated to their rightful holders when the titles had been reinstated by the Muggle Queen and bestowed upon members of the Potter Alliance. Three of the traditional pureblood houses had lost their Wizengamot seats as a result of that because they no longer had sufficient holdings to meet the minimum requirements for a seat, as the pureblood houses had lost almost fifty votes between them through the reclamation of those titles and holdings from the houses who had misappropriated them over the centuries. Of the other pureblood houses who had hung onto their seats, five had lost enough titles and votes to be downgraded and over a dozen more had also lost votes, even though they'd managed to avoid being downgraded.

The purebloods had only managed to regain nine of the thirty seats that they had lost, and their other seats had lost more votes due to the need to allocate sufficient holdings to those seats to meet the minimum requirements to sit on the Wizengamot. This was another grievance that they held against the Potter Alliance, because they'd used the titles and holdings taken off the traditional families when they claimed their titles and holdings by right of conquest to secure most of the seats that they caused to be vacated, and used them to make that filthy Goblin and Muggle the equivalents of senior noble houses, along with their minor members.

Under the rules of the Wizengamot (instigated by the noble houses in the early days to control how much say non-noble houses could have), the Minor Houses on the Wizengamot were required to maintain the holdings needed to stay within three votes of the average votes of the Noble Houses, and Noble Houses had to hold more votes than Minor Houses or they'd be degraded (after all, poor nobles were little better than commoners). With the Noble Houses of Weasley and Lovegood, Baron Arthur Weasley, Baroness Black, Baroness Tonks, the Ambassador of the Goblin Nation and the Governor of Magical Britain all holding at least nine votes, this pulled the Noble House average up to around six votes. Therefore, Minor Houses had to hold at least three votes to maintain a seat on the Wizengamot and the pureblood Noble Houses had to give up some of their holdings to their supporting Minor Houses to avoid losing them.

* * *

Of course the fact that they had been the cause of their own demise would never be accepted by them, and that was what made the _proper_ pureblood families turn to Voldemort as their only hope to stop the Potter Alliance from turning their established world upside down, and regain the glory that they _knew_ was rightfully their's. They somehow missed the fact that most of those who joined Voldemort and assisted in his attacks against Muggles, the Muggleborn or the blood traitors were being killed by either the Muggle Task Force or the Aurors who responded to those attacks.

Amelia made an example of any Death Eaters captured by the Aurors who survived the ritual used to strip them of their magic, showing how they'd been drained of their magic and obliviated before she handed them over the Task Force to be buried in a Muggle prison somewhere. The obliviated non-magicals that Amelia paraded around and the piles of Death Eater bodies left after each thwarted attack were usually the only indications that Voldemort and the pureblood families got of what had happened to the Death Eaters that Voldemort kept sending to attack the Muggles, Muggleborn and others who opposed him. One thing that was obvious to anyone who was keeping count was that the tide had been turned and the Death Eaters were the ones who were doing most of the dying this time.

The old school pureblood families just saw this was an unwarranted attack on their traditional way of life and an attempt to withhold what was rightfully their's (IE: An _ything_ _they wanted_ _!_ ) from them. They also regarded the DMLE and the Ministry in general as traitors for going against them, so even the 'light' families felt justified in rallying behind Voldemort. They weren't exactly subtle about their views, going around harping on about their motto of 'blood over all' to anyone who would listen.

Harry smiled every time he thought of Jimmy Durrant, the grizzled old American Hit Wizard that they'd brought in as the world's leading authority on the subject to train Harry and the others in duelling and combat. Jimmy had learned his craft from the gun slingers of America's wild west back in the heyday of gun fighting and he had laughed at the traditional purebloods when he met them. "Them old boys would fit right in with the inbred hicks we have back in hills in the Appalachians, they're so inbred they probably call their Pa Uncle Daddy!" Jimmy had taught them to be faster and more accurate with a wand (or a gun) than anyone else, but it was his biting sense of humour that Harry remembered whenever he came to mind.

By this stage of the war, between them they had taken out well over a thousand Death Eaters, far more than they had managed by the end of the last war. Fortunately (for them), this meant that most of the Death Eaters who were coming up against them now were inexperienced and had limited ability, and while they had no compunctions about torturing, violating or slaughtering Muggles en-mass, when dealing with witches and wizards (even Muggleborn and half-blood), they expected the old duelling rules and standards to be followed. The family, the witches and wizards of the Task Force and even most of the Aurors laughed at the very idea of this, because as far as they were concerned, anyone who was willing to don the Death Eaters' hooded robes and masks and attack defenceless men, women and children didn't deserved to be treated any better than the animals that they were.

Whenever they engaged with the Death Eaters they had one rule, and one rule only, take them down as fast as possible to eliminate the risk that they represented. If it was possible to do so without killing them, this was done so that their magic could be harvested, but if it was too risky to try that they were just cut down as quickly as possible. One of the things that Jimmy had kept stressing to them was. "If someone comes at you, take them down hard, fast and permanent, don't give them a chance to get up and try again!" Harry and the other boys had asked why he was always talking straight at them when he said this, asking whether he didn't think the girls could do it. The girls laughed with Jimmy in agreement when he answered. "Hell no! Girls are practical, they understand the need for this, it's you boys who need your stupid noble ideas drummed out of you!"

They knew that Voldemort was holding back his core inner circle while he was building it up again, and that the more experienced ones leading the attacks were disappearing the moment any resistance showed up, but they were prepared to settle for eliminating any sheep that they left behind because wiping out his sheep would keep Voldemort and his inner circle tied up in recruiting and training more sheep, or 'Cannon fodder' as Jimmy called them.

* * *

It was in the midst of this that Hermione had their son, James Henry Potter. Mother and child were both fine, and Fleur, Gabi and their Grandmother were a little in awe of the aura of power coming from him, James was going to be as powerful as his father, if not more! With his mother's tawny hair, which looked as though it would be halfway between his mother's curls and his father's wavy hair, and his father's emerald eyes, everyone agreed that James Henry was going to be a heartbreaker. The men all groaned in sympathy for him though when Fleur's answer to this was that his two big sisters would be right there to keep him in line and make sure he behaved!

The veela magic and healing that Hermione gained from her bond with Fleur and Gabrielle meant that she was back on her feet and active inside a week. Hermione knew that Voldemort's Death Eaters were continuing their attacks and the time that Voldemort would come out and attack himself was growing closer so, now that James was born and should be safe from any overflows of magic bleeding through their bond, she released Harry to take Dumbledore's magic.

Hermione was still worried about the ritual, so they brought Dumbledore down to Potter Manor to perform it. Tally and Winky looked after the babies during the ritual, because Hermione and Fleur wanted to be there to see for themselves that everything went OK.

It actually looked more like an arcane ritual than the magic transfers generally did, because the entire family group were arrayed around Harry, Dumbledore and Remus (who was performing the ritual). Most of them shared Hermione's fears that absorbing Dumbledore's magic might be too much, because even if he wasn't the 'most powerful wizard in the world', as he and his followers claimed, he was still a very powerful wizard and they weren't sure that Harry's magical core would have the capacity to contain his magic on top of his own.

Dumbledore was looking frightened and beaten when he was brought in, because Amelia and the others had been taking some pleasure in telling him what was going to happen when the time was right. Amelia had taken it further and told him that this would probably be the first and last time in his life that he would actually involved in doing something for the good of someone other than himself, because his magical power might help Harry do what _he_ should have done over fifty years ago when he had the chance, destroy Tom Riddle once and for all.

That started Dumbledore off on his usual shite about how Riddle couldn't be destroyed without his assistance and the things that he knew, but Amelia cut him off. "We've destroyed all the horcruxes you old fraud! Now we just have to wait for Riddle to show himself and finish him!"

"No! You don't understand, none of you do, Tom is too clever for you, he created more than one horcrux!"

"Shite! How stupid are you old man? I just told you that we destroyed _all_ the horcruxes! Riddle's Diary, his grandfather's ring, the Slytherin locket, Helga Hufflepuff's cup, Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem, Riddle's snake familiar, and the one that _you_ left on the head of a baby when you left Harry on those monsters' doorstep all night in the middle of winter!"

"What? How, how did you know about all of that?"

Amelia gave him a look of disgust. "Some we worked out, like the diary and Harry's scar, some we hunted down and the rest we got out of _your_ head!"

"You, you had no right to do that to me!"

Dumbledore tried to scuttle away as a furious Amelia advanced on him. " _We_ had no right? After all of the terribly obscene things that you've done, you have no right to live you bastard! You had Harry's parents killed, tried to do the same to Neville's parents and we've only just got them back, you dumped Sirius in Azkaban without any investigation or trial to make sure he didn't get in the way of your sick plans for Harry. You sent Harry into that horror existence with the Dursleys that was even worse than Azkaban as a _baby_ and you've destroyed untold hundreds, if not thousands, of lives in your pursuit of _your_ bullshit greater good! We saw that you purposely left that abomination on Harry as a baby to further your plans _and_ we saw your sick plans to use and abuse and sacrifice him for _your_ benefit! No, Ankles, you deserve far more than we have or ever could do to you, and the only reason that we allowed Harry to stop us killing you years ago was what's in your head, and after we found the ritual that allowed us to harvest it, your magic. Enjoy your last few hours Ankles, because if you somehow survive the ritual I and the rest of the people who love Harry will happily remove the blight that is Albus Dumbledore from the world!"

At that moment, Dumbledore realised that the elf in the room with them was looking at him with an expression that he didn't believe possible on a house elf. This elf obviously wanted to kill him, and it appeared that the only thing that was stopping him was the upcoming ritual to strip him of his magic and transfer it to Harry. The death stare only stopped when Amelia held out her hand and Dommy took it to pop the two of them from the room.

Dumbledore tried to fight the ritual, tried to escape, but he came to the frightening realisation that young Harry wasn't the only one in the room who was more powerful than him, Hermione Granger and two other young witches were as well, and they easily controlled him through the ritual. As he collapsed in the chair he was secured to, dying, Dumbledore saw that the three witches had also reacted when Harry absorbed his magical power, and his last thought was to wonder how they were connected.

Any thought of Dumbledore died before he did, because Dobby popped in in a panic, saying that something was happening with Master James and Miss Henri and Harri. Harry, Hermione and Fleur were gone in an instant and they had their children in their arms the moment they arrived. Quick (and panicked) scans showed that all three babies were fine, but they also showed that their magic had increased, and their parents looked at each other in fear at what might have happened.

They had recognised that magic would probably bleed from Harry into Hermione, Fleur and Gabrielle in the ritual, but they hadn't realised that the magic would also be shared between the two mothers and their babies. They berated themselves for not considering this, especially as they'd held off until after James was born for that very reason. It didn't take long for the babies to settle down in their parents' arms and further scans confirmed that they were in fact fine.

Once they'd put the babies down in their cribs, they returned to the room where the the ritual had been to collect Dumbedore's body and his magical portrait and pop off to a sea cliff where a strong wind was blowing out to sea. A number of the family members made their opinions of Dumbledore known one last time by spitting or pissing on the body and Fawkes left her droppings on its face before Harry, Hermione, Fleur and Gabi summoned veela fire to incinerate the body and portrait as the trash that they were, letting the ashes blow far out to sea so that they would be dispersed without polluting the living.

The next day they processed summary judgements against Dumbledore in the Wizengamot to ensure that his family did not benefit from his evil deeds. Dumbledore's brother Aberforth got what was rightfully his as the last member of the immediate family, but everything else Dumbledore had went towards making partial reparation to those it had been stolen from, or who were harmed by him.

They also brought forward evidence to prove that Dumbledore had in fact been Gellert Grindelwald's lover, how he had in no small part been responsible for Grindelwald's rise as a dark lord and how he had killed him by shooting him in the back after they had had sex. Dumbedore's Order of Merlin, First Class, was withdrawn and any mention of Albus Dumbledore was removed from all of the history books after that.

When people rose up in outrage about their hero being treated this way, the _true_ story of the deeds of Albus Dumbledore was published in the Daily Prophet. Anyone who decried this as lies were told to go and check the facts themselves and soon enough, even his staunchest supporters shut up as they came to realise that most of the stories about the great deeds of Albus Dumbledore had actually been made up by Albus Dumbledore.

They did give his brother Aberforth closure in regard to his sister Ariana though, as they showed him the memory of how Albus had deliberately killed Ariana when he had the opportunity in that fight between the two of them and Grindelwald to ensure that she couldn't do anything to interfere with his own fame and reputation. Aberforth had always believed that Albus had killed his beloved little sister, but knowing this for a fact spared him the frustration of constantly wondering whether he had, as Albus had of course always vehemently denied doing this.

Harry and the others got a degree of satisfaction from knowing that they'd ensured that Albus Dumbledore had been denied the very thing that he'd caused the pain, suffering, death and destruction of countless numbers of people for, the fame and glory of Albus Dumbledore.

* * *

Sitting with his children one day, Harry had to laugh at Sirius when he asked how long he thought it would be before James started talking, and waving at the twins he responded. "Well Henri and Harri are talking at six months and Hermione can out talk all of us, so I'd say sometime within the next five months or so." Unfortunately Hermione had walked in as he was saying this and he got whacked over the back of the head as Jean burst out laughing. "You have to admit you deserved that, but you're right, with Hermione for a mother our little Jimmy will be talking sooner than anyone else!"

Taking in the hands on the hips and the indignant glare her daughter was directing at her, she answered her unspoken retort. "Hermione Jean, don't you look at me in that tone of voice! You know very well that what Harry was saying was true! You were talking by six months and with the extra magic, James will almost certainly be speaking earlier than that!"

That make Hermione quirk a proud smile and reluctantly nod. "Yes, he will, but that doesn't make what my loving husband said acceptable!"

Harry reached back to scoop her into his lap and kiss her, getting a happy gurgle from James and laughs from the twins and the others in the room. Hermione summoned James into her arms and kissed him on the forehead, which was followed by Harry blowing a raspberry on his stomach to make him kick and gurgle happily.

* * *

Of course, the fates didn't seem inclined to let them have a quiet happy time for too long, and reports started coming in that indicated werewolf, vampire, dementor attacks, as well as what appeared to be inferi, dragons and trolls, or perhaps even giants. It looked like Voldemort was calling in all of his old friends from before his attack on Harry backfired, and that wasn't good for anyone.

Working with the Task Force, they used the satellite imagery recordings to determine that some of the werewolves and trolls, most of the vampires and the giants had come over from the continent, they also saw that some dragons had come over from the northern dragon preserves (Harry was glad to see that none had come from the Romanian preserve were Norberta and the others he'd dealt with were). The dementors were the ones that Fudge had had at Azkaban and the inferi appeared to be homegrown, but Harry didn't draw any comfort from that.

They now had an idea of what they were up against even though that was a daunting prospect, so the magical and non-magical teams got together to make plans about how they were going to deal with them. They had Alistor, Frank and Alice, Angela, Sirius, Remus and Amelia who had had experience fighting them in the last war, and Fred and George and Harry and Hermione to come up with ideas from Magical Britain, and they had some of the more experienced soldiers, some experimental armourers and engineers and some of the more creative witches and wizards from the Task Force.

The ones who'd fought these foes in the last war did most of the talking while the rest of them scribbled ideas and asked questions. They thought that they had a solution to the inferi, so Fred and George were working with the armourers and some of the other witches and wizards on that. They also had them working on ideas in using the known weaknesses of the werewolves, vampires and dementors. Failing specific solutions, they were planning on ripping them apart with heavy machine guns or blowing them up with grenades.

The dragons, trolls and giants had no obvious weaknesses, so they were outlining plans for using heavy machine guns, canon, anti tank rifles and rockets on them and pointing out the more critical target areas. Harry was hoping to have a chance to try and talk the dragons out of fighting before they destroyed them, but he had to accept that there was little hope of that.

They knew that the Death Eaters and Tom Bloody Riddle would be harder to kill than ordinary humans, but they'd already proven that fully automatic weapons, heavy sniper rifles and grenades were quite effective against them, so they weren't really worried about dealing with them.

The final confrontation was approaching, and so long as they could come up with proven ways to destroy every element of the force that they would come up against, they were quietly confident that they could prevail. They were in agreement that until they were certain that they'd killed Riddle, everything that they came up against was to be destroyed, but the question was what to do after Riddle was dead. In the end, they reluctantly agreed that they needed to wipe out the rest of the opposing force, and accepted that that might mean having to deal with the wider werewolf, vampire and pureblood communities as well if they took up a feud over the deaths of the ones who fought beside Riddle.

 **A/N: I can neither confirm nor deny that the inspiration for Jimmy was someone with a large nose and a penchant for saying "Ha cha cha!" ;^)**


End file.
